Year of Discovery
by Laen
Summary: 10.20.2008 - Story progress is currently paused, and is undergoing a re-write. Looking for beta that has time to edit at least one chapter a week. If interested, please send a message via profile page.
1. Leaving the Wizarding World

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (1) Leaving the Wizarding World

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loved to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

"What would you say if I told you I had the power to give you a new life? A chance, to get away from here; to live as a normal sixteen year old kid, and not 'the-boy-who-lived'?"

"I'd asked '_what's the catch_?'." Harry replied.

"You'd have to live life among muggles, with your magic of course, but nothing would be able to sense you. The ministry wouldn't be able to find you."

Harry looked up at the man who stood in front of him, and frowned.

"That'll never happen." He whispered as the man chuckled.

"Never say never, Mr. Potter."

"Who are you?" Harry questioned.

"My name is Kazu; they call me the Dragon Master."

"I see... Kazu... Why are you offering to change my life?"

"You've turned sixteen today Mr. Potter, and if I'm not correct, you made a wish to escape all of this. To escape your destiny, your past, your future, and your present. You wish to escape the prophecy. I'm merely giving you the chance to make that wish come true." Kazu explained.

"How do you know about the prophecy?" Harry asked in shock.

"I know many things, young dragon. Time will answer your questions if you are willing to wait," the man smiled.

"How do I know you're not a death eater, and you're not trying to kill me?" Harry continued to ask.

"You don't."

There was a pause of silence before Harry spoke again.

"Where would I live? And under what name?"

"You'd be at a private school down in Scotland, along with muggles your own age." Kazu answered.

"It's too close to Hogwarts... why can't I stay in London?"

"The most dangerous place is also the safest Harry. They'll be searching for you in London, but they'll never expect you to be right under their nose," the man explained as Harry nodded slowly.

"But my scar—"

"Will be permanently removed, your connection with Voldemort will also be closed off unless you open it." Kazu replied.

"How do you know about the connection?" Harry asked.

"Common sense."

"The name I'd be under?"

"Nicholas Cliffmore."

"Why Nicholas? Why Cliffmore?" Harry asked.

"Your grandfather's name was Nicholas. Cliffmore was your grandmother's maiden name."

"Oh. Do I have to make my decision now? If I wish to have a new life?" Harry questioned.

"Afraid so. Anymore questions?" Kazu asked.

"Yes. What else other then my scar will be changed? Wouldn't people still recognize me?"

"I'll be changing your hair around a bit. And your eye sight. If you spend the rest of the summer exercising and eating properly, I'd say you wouldn't need anymore changing. You'd probably look a hundred times better then you are now." Kazu explained.

Harry looked down at his clothes, it was over sized, and he had lost quite a large amount of weight in the last month since he returned from Hogwarts.

"You'll be staying at a small house for the rest of summer. All the things you would need would be there. Food, books, computers, any muggle technology." Kazu continued to say.

"What's the name of the school I'll be attending?"

"Scotland High Private School. It's better then Hogwarts." Kazu answered.

"That's saying a lot." Harry muttered as the man who stood in front of him nodded.

"I'd need to learn some of the basics about muggle technology. I haven't really had a chance to see what's new with the world lately."

"Don't worry about that. I'll teach you how to use the programs in a laptop you'll be using in class for your notes... and if you do need help, you'll receive it easily."

"From who? Who would I receive help from?" Harry asked.

'_From me_.' A voice inside Harry's head answered.

"What was that?" Harry asked as he looked around looking for the source of the voice.

"Your new tutor, if you plan on accepting my help." Kazu answered.

There was another moment of silence, before Harry spoke again.

"I'll accept your offer." He whispered as a small smile appeared onto the man's face.

"Great."

"Dad, I refuse to move!" Hermione Granger screamed as her parents continued to knock at the door.

"Listen sweetie, we've talked about this already. Your father and I know what's best for you. It's not safe living in London anymore, and going to Hogwarts is out of the question!" Evelyn Granger said as a groan was heard through the door to their daughter's bedroom.

"Hogwarts is the only place that's safe now that Voldemort—" Hermione began, but her father cut in.

"If Hogwarts was safe, then why did you come home with an injury?" David Granger questioned.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke again.

"The movers are here already, please Hermione. Open the door." David pleaded.

"Dumbledore would never allow this. Why isn't he here to stop you?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

"Dumbledore can't do anything. When we sent you to Hogwarts, your headmaster and us signed a magical contract. If anything dangerous happened while you were at Hogwarts, we'd pull you out immediately. We would've done so earlier, but apparently your headmaster thinks three-headed dogs, trolls, large human-eating snakes, and werewolves aren't dangerous!" Mr. Granger stated angrily.

"Mum, you can't really agree with him! Please!" Hermione said as tears began to stream down her face.

"We're sorry Hermione, we really are. But you'll understand in the future. This is for the best. I promise you, you'll love Scotland high!" Evelyn said.

"I hate you both... Hogwarts is my second home! All my friends are there! You force me to leave just because I come home with an injury and—"

"Get on the bloody car Hermione Jane Granger!" David shouted angrily as a small click was heard, and the door was unlocked.

Fifteen year old Hermione Granger stepped out of her room holding Crookshanks and Hedwig, her face streaked with tears. She couldn't believe it; she would never have the chance to see her friends again. Ever.

Brand new tears escaped her eyes as she walked down the stairs, and walked out of the house that had been her home for the last fifteen years. She got onto the car in silence, and prayed that she would somehow return to Hogwarts one day. Someway, some how.


	2. Hello, Scotland High!

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (2) Hello, Scotland High!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loved to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

__

__

_A Month Later_

Sixteen year old Harry Potter grinned as he walked into the room that was to be his home for the next year, before placing his suitcase and backpack onto the ground.

"Guess we're going to be roommates in this little miniature apartment." A voice spoke from behind.

Harry turned around, and saw a boy around his age standing there smiling at him.

"Nicholas Cliffmore... you are?" Harry introduced himself as he held his hand out.

"The name's Charlie, Charlie Creevey," the teenage boy replied as he shook Harry's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Harry said as Charlie nodded.

"Do you know how to cook?"

Harry frowned slightly, before answering.

"Yes, why'd you ask?"

"I can't. Think you can cook the meals? My two brothers Colin and Dennis have always told me my cooking tastes nasty. By the way, where's the kitchen? I can't find it anywhere." Charlie explained as Harry stared at him in shock.

"Your brothers are Colin and Dennis Creevey?" Harry asked as Charlie nodded.

"Colin's fifteen this year, and Dennis is fourteen. They um... go to this private school." Charlie explained awkwardly.

"Hogwarts right?" Harry asked, although he already knew the answer.

"How did you—"

"I knew someone who went there. Told me about your brothers." Harry answered.

"Yeah. They're crazy... the two of them. Colin comes back every summer with a trunk full of pictures about this guy Harry Potter. He talks about him all day long, it's like the guy's a god. What's with that?" Charlie asked as Harry tried his best to keep a straight face.

"Potter saved the world. I'm not surprised if there's a fan club."

Charlie laughed at this.

"And to answer your question about the kitchen—I heard we ate at the cafeteria." Harry said as Charlie frowned slightly.

"Really? Well, it's my first year here. So I've no idea where everything is. Say, have you gotten your new schedule yet?"

As Harry was about to answer the question, a knock was heard at the door. He and Charlie both walked out of his room, into the small hallway that separated their bedrooms and the washroom, then walked to the front door.

"Hey, all third year students are to go down to the gym. Don't worry about your uniforms though." A boy around Harry's age said as both Harry and Charlie nodded.

"Are we in our third year?" Harry asked as he and Charlie walked out of their small 'apartment' and followed the boy to the gym.

"I think so. I hear you have to be thirteen before you come to this school. So you only spend five years here. It's like American high school." Charlie explained.

When they arrived at the gym, Harry noticed that it was nearly all filled up. The principal walked up to the front, and immediately, all talking stopped. Harry and Charlie both sat down at a nearby bench as the man began to talk.

"My name is John Fudge, and I am the principal at Scotland High. First off, I would like to welcome the large amount of students that have decided to join us this year. Let's give them a warm round of applause everyone!" the man said as everyone began to clap.

_'Oh no! Not another Fudge!'_ Harry thought to himself as the principal continued to speak.

"At this school, we have over twenty thousand students, and over three hundred teachers. In each class, there is an average of sixty to a hundred students. The homework system here is the same as last years. Hand it in to your teacher, get it back in your mailbox. For those who don't know or can't remember, at this school many of the professors and teachers don't bother to remember names.

"Therefore, when you hand your assignments in, double check to make sure that your student ID code is on it. Many of you are probably wondering why you have a whole room to yourself, the reason is at Scotland High, and we believe that each student deserves their own space. Therefore, two students share one miniature apartment instead of one room. I'll separate you into your homeroom classes and your teachers will explain the rest.

"Those with the last names _Able_ to _Allen_, please report to Professor Donaldson. _Amber_ to _Attlee_, report to Professor Gripp. _Avley_ to _Blonde,_ report to Professor Lewis. _Bold_ to_ Chan_, report to Professor Olsen. _Chen_ to _Claxford_, report to Professor Klein. _Cliffmore_ to _Creevey_, report to Professor Ayotte..."

Both Harry and Charlie got to their feet, and headed towards the teacher their principal had pointed to as 'Professor Ayotte'.

The female teacher led the crowd of teenage kids out of the gym, and into a nearby large classroom. The students all sat down, and waited for their homeroom teacher to speak.

"Hello everyone, for those who remember me from last year, I'm Professor Ayotte; and to those who are you, you can call me Professor Ayotte, or Ms. Ayotte. Either one can work. Anyways, in the next little while, we'll be looking through some information on the school year. Can two students volunteer to hand these papers out?"

Hands immediately raised, and soon, everyone had a package of information about Scotland High.

"If you could all turn to the first page, you can see that the classes are divided into four periods. Breakfast is from 6 to 8 in the morning. Your first class begins at 8:35, and ends at 10:15. Second class is from 10:20 to 12:00, and you have an hour for lunch. Then, at five past one, your third class begins, and it ends at 2:45. And your last class is from 2:50 to 4:30.

"For those who can't remember that, each class is an hour and forty minutes long. So you can do the math. Dinner starts at six, ends at eight. All students have to be back in their rooms by ten pm, and every Friday is a half day. Meaning your weekends are two and a half days long.

"The schedule may look simple now, and the classes may seem easy, but let me assure you, it's not. Once the homework piles up, you're dead if you don't get it in on time. Teachers usually give you a week or so to finish projects, and at the most, two and a half days for assignments over the weekend.

"The cafeteria at the school is open to all students, but is closed during classes. There are vending machines stationed around the school, and to those who get hungry easily, you might want to memorize the locations. Laptops are allowed and are recommended in class for notes. If you're caught cheating on your exam, test, or hand in someone else's homework, you're out of here. No warnings... nothing. So beware." Ms. Ayotte finished as thick tension formed in the classroom.

Silence was heard before she spoke again.

"Are there any questions?"

A boy near the front raised his hand, and their homeroom teacher called on him immediately.

"The shops that are on campus... we're aloud there to buy stuff right?" he asked.

"That's what they're there for. If you run out of school supplies, they also sell those there. They accept both debit and credit card, for those who are wondering." Professor Ayotte answered.

Another boy raised his hand, and Ms. Ayotte called on him.

"Are we aloud walkmans or food in class?"

"That depends on your teachers. Not me, but it's rare that teachers allow you to listen to music in class when you're supposed to be paying attention. Anymore questions?"

No one raised their hands this time.

"Okay, when I call your name, come up to the front to receive your schedule, student ID number, and map of the school. After you get it, you may leave. If there are any students who still have questions, you can e-mail them to me. You should be able to find my e-mail on the school website. Understood?"

Silence...

"Nicholas Cliffmore!" Professor Ayotte read off her attendance sheet as Harry got to his feet, and approached her.

She gave him the required papers, and after checking to make sure he had everything, Harry returned to his room.


	3. Hermione's Bad Luck

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (3) Hermione's Bad Luck

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loved to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

Hermione Granger was having the worse day of her life. First off, she was tuck with a roommate who had a brain the size of a pea, and an attitude that surpassed Pansy Parkinson's by at least ten times. Second off... she wasn't at Hogwarts with her friends.

Hogwarts...

Hermione sighed as she sat down onto her bed, and fell back into her comfy blanks. It would've been the second week into the school year, and she should be in one of her classes right now.

For the last month, Hermione had been owling Ron and Ginny back and forth using Harry's owl (who arrived at her house the day after Harry's birthday, with a note from Harry asking her to look after her), asking for help, but the replies were always the same.

_'Sorry Hermione, we told Dumbledore, but he says you're under a magical contract, can't help... blablabla.'_

When school started at Hogwarts, things got even worse. Ron owl-ed her constantly asking for help with his homework, and when Hermione heard that Harry had gone missing, she only felt worse for Ron, who was practically all by himself.

The latest owl Ginny Weasley had sent her only caused her to miss Hogwarts even more...

_Dear Hermione,_

_        Hope you're doing okay, a lot has happened in the last few days since I last wrote to you. A D.A. meeting was called last night, and apparently Professor Lupin is teaching us now. Dumbledore wants us to continue to club, now that Voldemort's back to power. The order's still looking for Harry, no luck at all through. Ron's still struggling with his homework, too bad you're not here to help him. Oh yeah, guess what? Ron's dating Luna now! They were owling each other a lot over summer, and I guess they got together. Breakfast at the great hall was wonderful today... half the Slytherins turned into canaries, and the other half grew tongues that were at least five feet long! Wish you were here to witness it, Colin took a few pictures of it, and I'll get some from him and send them to you when I've got a chance.  Anyways, miss you lots, write back soon!_

_                                     From: Ginny_

_P.S. All the Gryffindors and D.A. members say 'hi'!_

As Hermione thought about Hogwarts, a white snowy owl fluttered into the room. It hooted twice to get her attention.

"Hey Hedwig." Hermione smiled slightly as she petted it on the head.

She noticed that Hedwig was holding another letter, and was about to open it when the door to her room suddenly slammed open.

Her first instinct was to grab her wand and hex the crap out of the intruder, but stopped when she realized it was just her annoying roommate: Krista.

"Oh my god! What is that _thing_ doing in here?" Krista screeched as she pointed at the white owl.

"It's mine." Hermione muttered as she continued to pet Hedwig.

"Ewwwwww… how can you touch that thing… its gross!" the teenage girl said as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked, wanting the girl out of her room as soon as possible.

"Of. I'm going to throw a party tonight, you won't mind, do you?" Krista asked.

"Throw a party? In your room? Isn't it a bit small?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not just in my room! Your room too! So, you don't mind to you?" Krista asked as Hermione eyes widened with disbelief.

"Are you crazy? We've got classes tomorrow! Of course I would mind! Don't even think about inviting people into my room! I've only unpacked!" Hermione snapped as Krista frowned.

"Oh don't be a party pooper! Have some fun Hermy!" Krista pleaded as a look of anger appeared onto Hermione's face.

"It's Her-my-oh-nee! Now get out!" Hermione snapped as Krista gave her a cold glare before doing so.

The door slammed hard on Krista's way out, and Hermione immediately got to her feet to lock the door.

She decided to get some reading done, but after a while, she left for dinner. When she returned, she heard loud music blaring from both Krista and her room, and she noticed that crowds of people were inside their small apartment.

"Oh damn it!" Hermione cursed angrily as she ran into her room. She had made the mistake of forgetting to lock it when she left.

"EVERYBODY OUT NOW!" she shouted as the people inside her room ignored her, and continued to dance to the music and create havoc.

Nobody bothered to listen to her, but when Hermione went under her bed and grabbed a metal baseball bat out, everyone ran for it.

As she locked the door, Hermione looked around at her once-neat-and-clean room. Books and clothing was scattered about, and a few of her belongings had been broken or shattered.

Placing the bat in a corner against the wall, Hermione sighed. It was going to be a long night.

RING!

Harry hurried into the classroom, and sat down at a seat in the middle of the room near Charlie. Like the teachers had told them yesterday, there was indeed a large amount of students in each class.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Alec Chamber, and I am your History teacher," an old man spoke as he paced around the front of the room, staring at everyone.

"You will refer to me as Professor Chamber and nothing else. Those who are caught napping in this class will end up with an hour's detention with me after school, and those who are late, will result in the same consequences, understood?"

There were mumbles of yes, understood, and of course.

"Alright then, everyone take your textbooks out and turn to page three hundred and ninety-four. For the next two weeks, we'll be learning about Napoleon Bonaparte and—young lady, wake up!" Professor Chamber suddenly snapped.

A girl with long brown hair who sat a few seats in front of Harry mumbled something, before her head shot up immediately.

"Professor! I'm _so_ sorry for dozing off!" the girl apologized as sounds of sniggering could be heard from all around.

"Care to give me a reason why I shouldn't give you detention?" Professor Chamber asked.

"Sir—I couldn't get enough sleep last night because my roommate Krista Goldstein threw a party that lasted all night, and the music kept me up." The girl up ahead answered.

"I see... well, I suggest getting earplugs. You're excused from detention this time, but next time you won't be as lucky. Like I was saying, page three hundred and ninety-four..."

Harry took his textbook out, and tried hard to pay attention to the class, but he was distracted when he heard a weird conversation from the people behind him.

"I can't believe she told on you Krista! What a bitch!" a girl spoke in a preppy tone.

"More like a witch, you should see the freaky books she has. I looked through one of them, something about _Hogwarts: a History_ or something. She's even got a large, fat, orange cat and a white snowy owl for pets! It's mad! She got some weird stuff yesterday from that owl too... if I'm not right, it was a letter! Can you believe that? A letter? And to make things weirder, it was written in parchment! Actual old parchment! She has quills too! It's like she's from the eighteen century. Weird huh?" another girl, Harry assumed as Krista muttered.

A look of shock, yet confusion and worry appeared onto Harry's face as he began to think...

_'No... it can't be... can it?_ He thought as he looked over at the brown haired girl that spoke earlier.

_'Nah... it's impossible! Hermione would never doze off in class.'_ Harry thought as he continued to listen to Professor Chamber talk about the battles Napoleon came out victorious in.


	4. You Can Never Escape can you?

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (4) You Can Never Escape... can you?

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

.

.

.

RING!

As Hermione got to her feet, and began to stuff her notes and textbook into her bag, she heard a few people muttering about her as they walked by.

"Yeah, Krista's roommate... what a bitch..."

"I know... tattletale..."

"God, look at her... she's so ugly..."

"Who does she think she is?"

"I heard she's crazy... what do you think?"

Blinking back tears, she hurried out of the history classroom, and sped off to math class.

.

.

.

Harry didn't even have a chance to check if the girl really was Hermione, before she suddenly ran out of the classroom as if her life depended on it.

_'Weird.'_ He thought as he forced the idea of Hermione going to Scotland High out of his mind, and headed towards math class.

"See ya Charlie." He said as he headed towards the left wing of the school.

"Later Nick! Meet me down at the Cafeteria at lunch!" Charlie said as he turned towards the right, and walked off to Physics class.

Harry nodded in reply, and continued to walk towards his math classroom.

When he arrived at the classroom, the first thing he did was sit down at the last free spot at the front, and pulled his notebook out, getting prepared for a hard day of class. But if he had bothered to look towards his left, he would've noticed Hermione Granger sitting three seats away from him...

RING!

As the last of the students hurried into the class, their math teacher began to talk.

"Hello everyone, the name's Smith. You lot can call me Mr. Smith. We're going to start out with a few basic things today, something I'm sure all of you have heard of. Trigonometry. Now, if you would all take your textbooks out..."

Groaning and a few complaints could be heard as Harry dug into his backpack, and pulled his math textbook out.

"Page fifty-seven. I'm sure everyone brought their scientific calculators. Those who forgot... too bad, you'll have to do your work without it." Mr. Smith grinned.

More groaning was heard once again.

"Anyways, you all have the rest of the class to finish all the work from pages fifty-seven to sixty-one. Four pages of work shouldn't be that much for your first day here. Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work!" Mr. Smith said as all the students in the classroom immediately began to flip through their textbooks.

An hour and forty long, boring, and useless minutes later, Harry walked out of the math classroom yawning and struggling to stay awake.

"Hey Nicholas! Nicholas!" Charlie's voice could be heard calling him as he entered the cafeteria.

Harry searched the large room for his roommate, and saw the teenage boy waving at him at the line-up.

"Hey Charlie." Harry said as he walked up to his friend.

"Saved you a spot. Come on; better get some food before it's all gone." The sixteen year old Creevey said as Harry nodded.

Five minutes later, the two students sat down at a round table and began to eat their lunch.

"So, how was math class?" Charlie asked.

"Boring. Absolutely boring. Smith gave us four pages of work right off the bat. And there are at least fifty questions on each page. All due tomorrow. What about you?" Harry asked.

"Physics was okay, we watched a movie most of the class. Then he told us to read a few pages out of the textbook for homework." Charlie answered.

"Lucky. I hope I don't get too much work in Latin and Chemistry, or I'll never get to sleep tonight." Harry muttered as he took a sip of his juice.

"Can't be too bad. You can get some work done after lunch." Charlie suggested as Harry nodded slowly.

"Do you know where the library is? I don't want to run back to the dorm and do my work there, might end up falling asleep." Harry grinned.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be right next to our chemistry class." Charlie said as Harry took a bite of his sandwich.

"So, has Colin or Dennis owl-ed you about Hogwarts lately?" Harry asked.

"No, not yet. Listen, I'm going to stop by the library, I need to borrow a few books. I'll see you in Chemistry class okay?" Charlie asked as Harry nodded.

"See ya." Harry said as his new friend got to his feet, and walked away.

.

.

.

Harry managed to live through the first half of his Latin class, and was rather surprised with how much he knew about it. But he merely thought it was because he had to memorize so many spells that were spoken in Latin.

By the time he got to Chemistry class, Harry was half dead with boredom. After sitting down next to Charlie at a table, he pulled his textbooks and material out, waiting for class to start.

Their teacher, Professor Sever walked in looking glum and angry.

"Turn to page one hundred and thirty-two. We'll be learning how to make bombs today." The professor said as Harry's eyes widened with shock.

"What?" he cried out.

He wasn't the only one who did so, since the half the class was staring at the professor as if he was crazy.

"Wicked!" Charlie said with a large grin on his face.

The teacher waited until all the commotion calmed down, before speaking again.

"Now that I have your attention, turn to page seventeen in your textbooks. We're not actually making bombs. Just a simple formula. Rocket fuel, you can call it." The professor grinned as Harry sighed under his breath.

As he flipped to the page in the textbook, Harry could hear Charlie complaining next to him. For the rest of the class, they spent their time reading. When the bell finally rang, Harry was more then glad to get out of the classroom.

"A bit boring eh?" Charlie asked as Harry nodded.

The two friends continued to chat on their way out, but Harry had been so absorbed in the conversation, he didn't even noticed when he smashed into a girl in front of him.

"Ouch! Sorry there!" Harry said as he rubbed his forehead, and looked down towards the ground, where the girl he had crashed into had fallen.

Shock flowed through him when he realized who it was.

"Hermione?"


	5. First Lesson Of Gym

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (5) First Lesson of Gym!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loved to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

.

.

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Hermione Granger yawned as she walked out of her Chemistry classroom, never in her life, had she been so bored from school. The usual class at Hogwarts were boring, but she had Harry and Ron there, to brighten things up. But here... at Scotland High... she had no one. No friends. Only a truck load of enemies.

She had been so busy in her thoughts she didn't even notice when she smashed into someone on her way out. She looked up at the boy who she had collided into, and saw a look of shock on the boy's face.

"Hermione?" the raven haired boy whispered.

Hermione stared into his eyes, and saw a look of fear flash through them.

Green locked on brown. She frowned slightly.

"Do I know you?" she asked as the boy in front of her helped her to her feet.

"Um... sorry, I thought you were someone else." The raven haired boy muttered as he looked over at the brown haired boy next to him.

"Come on Charlie, let's go." He said as he began to walk away.

"Nick, wait up!" Charlie cried out as he ran after the raven haired boy.

For some reason, Hermione had a feeling she'd seen him somewhere before.

.

.

.

"Hey Nick! Slow down mate! How come you ran off like that? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" Charlie muttered as he finally caught up to his friend.

"Sorry." Harry managed to mumble before he turned his head back to check that Hermione hadn't followed them.

"Who was that?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Hermione Granger. Colin might've told you about her." Harry answered.

"Her? Wow! _That_ was Hermione Granger? She's hot!" Charlie said as Harry's eyes widened.

"Hey! Watch it!" Harry said as Charlie's face turned red.

"Sorry, you like her?" Charlie asked.

Harry stayed silent, not knowing what to reply.

"I've known her for a while. Close to six years I'd say." Harry mumbled as they reached their dorm.

"How come she didn't recognize you?" Charlie asked as he unlocked their door.

"Let's just say I've changed quite a lot in the last few weeks." Harry sighed as he walked in after his friend, and closed the door behind him.

"Well... I'm going to start on my history essay. Five hundred words about Napoleon's greatest achievements... bah... I'll see you around." Charlie muttered as he went into his room, and shut the door behind him.

Harry smiled slightly, before walking over to his room, and entering it. He closed the door behind him as he walked in, and headed towards his window. After opening it, Harry looked out at the beautiful view.

"Wish I could tell you—really wish I could." Harry whispered as he closed his eyes slightly.

The thought: _'September 19th...'_ suddenly came into Harry's mind, and he frowned slightly.

That was Hermione's birthday...

"That's this Saturday!" Harry said out loud to himself.

_'Less then six days away... what should I get her?'_ Harry asked himself curiously.

Suddenly... an idea came to his head.

"Kazu! I need your help!" Harry spoke as a man dressed in emerald green robes appeared in front of him.

"It's about time you called." Kazu muttered as Harry grinned.

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The next few days of school for Harry, was absolutely overwhelming. Without the help of Hermione, he was struggling through his courses, and was constantly asking the voice inside his head for help.

On the last day of school during that week, Harry woke up feeling absolutely tired. He was up until two in the morning trying to finish his essay, and it wasn't until Charlie knocked on the door and reminded him that there was only gym the next day, did he drift off to sleep.

After taking a quick shower, Harry hurried off to the cafeteria, and ate a quick breakfast. He changed into his uniform (yes, they had uniforms for gym strip too), and headed towards the gym. When he arrived there, he was shocked to see the small amount of students there.

He was expecting at least thirty, if not, forty. But instead, there weren't even fifteen students there.

"How come there are barely any students?" Harry asked out loud.

"Because not a lot of people wanted to learn how to bungee-jump," a deep voice answered from behind.

Harry turned around, and saw a man, around twenty years old, who reminded Harry of Oliver Wood.

"Bungee-jumping?" a girl's voice asked in shock from behind.

Harry turned around once again, and saw Hermione staring past him at the teacher in shock.

"Yup! Wonderful sport, bungee-jumping! Anyways, partner up with someone; grab some gear, and one of the books down there. Then follow me. We're gonna take a little trip. Oh yes, my name's Justin Wood. You lot can call me Justin, or Wood. Whichever you like. Anyways, follow me!" the teacher said as each student did as they were told.

Harry paired up with Charlie, and grabbed a large backpack full of gear while Charlie grabbed the book Justin Wood had pointed to. Then they set off, following their professor.

Half an hour later, the group of students arrived at a large lake, across the lake, was a large bridge.

"That was a little trip?" Charlie gasped as he collapsed to the ground.

"Yup. Now, you have the next ten minutes to take a look through your books, and then you can start the fun. I'm going to go set things up." Justin said with a smile, then turned around and walked away.

"God, if he's related to Oliver, we're all screwed." Harry muttered under his breath.

He looked over at Hermione, who was working with a boy who wasn't listening to a word she said as she read the book out loud. He gave her his silent sympathies, and then went back to Charlie to figure out all he could about bungee-jumping in the next ten minutes.


	6. Saving Her Life

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (6) Saving Her Life

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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**A/N:**_ Since people were so eager to find out what happened next, I decided to update earlier... but **PLEASE** review! If you happened to ask a question during your last review, you might find the answer to it on my profile. –Laen, 06/14/04_

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"All right! Ten minutes is up! You should have read through the whole book by now—" when Justin announced this, every student groaned and held up their books, it was rather thick, at least two or three hundred pages each, "—anyways, you and your partner can decide who to take the jump first, then go for it. I'll be watching you. So careful."

Justin then turned around, and walked over to his own gear, and began setting it up. Many of the students followed his actions, and were looking over at him every few seconds to make sure they were doing it right.

Harry and Charlie opened their gear, and were beginning to set it up, when they heard a loud scream. Harry turned just in time to see Hermione fall off the bridge, and into the water. Laughing could be heard from her partner, and a few of the preps and Slytherin-like muggles around him.

When Harry noticed that Hermione wasn't surfacing the water, he grabbed an end of a bungee cord that was in front of him, and tied it quickly to one of the nearby polls. He didn't bother to check if he tied it properly, before he grabbed the other end, and jumped off the side, into the water.

Screams of "Nicholas!" and "Cliffmore!" and "What an idiot!" were heard as Harry felt gravity pull him downwards towards the lake. His hands received rope burn from the rope he held, although he had gloves on, and he let himself bounce once back up, before letting go of the rope, and penetrating the clear, blue water of the lake.

Coldness seeped through him when he did, and he swam to the top to catch a breath of air, before he cast a bubble-head charm (Wandless magic he picked up over the summer) on himself, and went back into the cold water in search of his best friend.

A few mere seconds later, he found her floating near the bottle of the lake. Harry swam forward, and grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her upwards. When he broke through the surface of the lake, he removed the bubble-head charm, and gasped for a deep breath, before swimming towards the lake shore with Hermione in his arms.

When he got there, he noticed that the students from his class were making their way towards them. Everyone circled them, and began to whisper.

"Hermione, Hermione! Wake up!" Harry gasped as water dripped from his hair onto his face.

He slapped Hermione lightly on the face a few times, trying to wake her up.

"Ah! Wonderful time to teach the class first aids and CPR! Everyone make sure to pay attention to this—" Justin began, but Harry cut in.

"Are you crazy? She is dying! And all you can think of is teaching first aids and CPR?" Harry shouted in shock.

Justin Wood ignored the boy, and continued to talk.

"Okay, the thing with CPR, first, you've got to make sure they're actually in the process of drowning... otherwise it wouldn't exactly be CPR..."

As Justin continued to ramble on and on about useless information, Harry began to panic. He didn't know _anything_ about muggle CPR, except you're supposed to breath into the person's mouth. He had read a bit about it in primary school, but he was scared that wouldn't be enough.

"Bloody hell!" he hissed when he noticed Hermione's lips were turning a bit blue.

"_Enverate_!" he whispered as he waved his hand over her face, hoping wandless magic would work on a drowning person.

After a seconds Hermione coughed, and water came pouring out of her mouth, she gasped for air and began to cry when she realized she nearly died.

"Hermione!" Harry said happily as he grabbed her and placed her into a hug, not caring that everyone was once again watching them.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered, and Harry's eyes widened in shock.

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Hermione screamed in shock when she was pushed on the bridge, and felt pain spread through her body when she made contact with the water. The pain was so intense, it knocked her unconscious.

When she had woken up, the first thing she saw was emerald green eyes, staring back into her.

"Hermione!" a familiar voice said happily as Hermione felt someone wrap her around her in a hug, not willing to let go.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered questioning.

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Harry let her go immediately, and took a few steps back in shock.

_'How did she know?'_ Harry thought as Hermione stared at him.

"Nick?" she asked.

"What?" Harry had a confused look on his face, then he remembered that _he_ was supposed to be 'Nick'.

Before their conversation could continue any further though, shouts and cries could be heard approaching.

"Hermione!" a familiar voice shouted as Harry looked up at the hill.

He watched in shock as four _very_ familiar people came running towards them.

"Ron?" Harry whispered as he watched them approach them.

"Ginny? Luna? Neville?" he continued to whisper under his breath as they ran forward.

"Hermione!" Ginny and Ron both shouted as they finally reached her, and embraced her in a family hug.

"Merlin's beard, you could've died!" Ron gasped as he finally released her.

"Ron! What are you guys doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Who are you people? What do you think you're doing here? You're not our students! You're not even wearing our uniforms! How dare you interrupt our class? I was teaching the students about first aids and CPR before you came along, and I was even going to show them an example of it by reviving Miss Granger here. Cliffmore! Why'd you revive her?" Justin Wood asked angrily as he turned to Harry.

Anger overcame Harry as he approached the teacher, and punched him across the cheek with everything he had.

"Fuck you!" he swore as the teacher fell to the ground in pain.

"Nicholas!" Charlie gasped in shock.

"She could've died, and you didn't even bother to help her!" Harry yelled as his hands formed into fists.

"I'm starting to think if Scotland High is as good as it seems, if they have teachers as stupid as you! Hermione could've drowned! And people were laughing when they saw her fall! LAUGHING!" Harry felt a beam of powerful hate spread through him as he looked through the crowd of people, glaring at those who had dared to laugh.

"Which one of you pushed her off the bridge?" he asked angrily.

When no one answered, Justin spoke up.

"How dare you attack a professor? I'll have you expelled Cliffmore—"

"Go ahead! Go to Fudge!" Harry exploded.

"Tell him what happened! Tell him you watched as a student was pushed off the bridge and nearly drowned! Tell him how you led us away from the school! Tell him how you took us off school grounds without permission forms! Go ahead! Tell him!"

There was a moment of silence before Harry continued to speak.

"I swear on my life, even if it's the last thing I do... I'll make sure you're kicked out of Scotland High... or my name isn't Har—Nicholas Cliffmore." Harry caught himself before he hissed out his real name.

He turned around, and faced his friends.

"I'll see you back at school, Miss Granger. Weasley, Longbottom, Lovegood." Harry acknowledged as he gave them a nod.

"You're Ronald Weasley! Neville Longbottom! Ginny Weasley! And Luna Lovegood! You're the people who went to the ministry last year with the famous Harry Potter!" Charlie yelled as he sudden realized who they were.

"Charlie Creevey, at your service! You've probably heard of my brother and—"

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Justin shouted angrily.

Harry turned around and punched the man once again across the jaw, this time, it knocked him out. He turned back to his friend, and sighed for a moment, before speaking.

"Go back to school Weasley—McGonagall would kill you lot if you're not back soon. I'll see you around." Harry muttered as he turned around and began to walk away, ignoring the questions that were thrown at him.

"Who are you?"

"How do you know who we are?"

"How do you know McGonagall?"

Harry ignored them, and continued to walk away from those he cared about the most in the world.


	7. Hello Hedwig

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (7) Hello... Hedwig

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loved to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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It had been hours since Harry had delivered that blow to their gym teacher Justin Wood's head. Apparently, the person wasn't even their teacher. He was just a student who had failed the same class over and over again for the last few years, and decided to have some fun trying to 'teach'.

All the equipment the students were using, were apparently stolen from the gym storage room, and when the principal Fudge heard about this, he immediately drew up an expulsion form, and expelled Justin Wood.

When the students had heard about this on the other hand, they were one—shocked, and two—angry that they hadn't realized it earlier. As Harry walked into the cafeteria, he noticed that people were staring at him. This time, it wasn't because he was the-boy-who-lived.

Ignoring the staring of the older, and younger students, Harry lined up in line to get his lunch, and after he got his medium sized box pizza and usual drink, he headed outside, to a large tree he had seen earlier that week.

He sat down at the tree, and began to eat his lunch. The calming sound of birds chirping, and students chatting brought a bit of happiness to his heart as he bit into the delicious soft bread full of cheese.

After twenty minutes, Harry had finished his lunch, and was sitting under the tree enjoying the peace and quiet. It wasn't until an owl flapped its wings at his face, and hooted twice, did he noticed that there was a white snowy owl on his shoulder.

"Hedwig?" he whispered as the owl hooted again to respond.

"Hey girl—hang on, I'll take you back to my dorm." Harry whispered as he placed an invisibility charm over the owl and headed back towards his room.

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Hermione had spent the last few hours talking with her friends, and enjoying their company, before they headed back to Hogwarts, and she headed back for lunch. When she arrived, she first took a shower, and dried her hair.

All in the meantime, she thought back to the conversation she had with her friends only mere moments ago.

**BEGIN FLASHBACK**

_"Hermione! Who's that guy? How does he know about McGonagall?" Ron asked as he pointed at the sixteen year old boy walking away from them._

_"Nicholas Cliffmore apparently. For some reason I thought he was Harry after he saved me from drowning." Hermione muttered as she looked down at the ground._

_"You nearly drowned?" Ron asked as Ginny said: "It's no wonder, he's got emerald green eyes just like Harry!"_

_Hermione looked up with a small smile at them, before sighing._

_"Hermione, what's wrong?" Neville asked in concern._

_"Did you see me fall off the bridge?" Hermione questioned in a whisper as she began to walk away from her so called 'classmates'._

_"Yeah! That's why we were so freaked out! We flew out here see, and nearly fell off the broom ourselves when we saw you fall." Ron explained quietly, making sure none of the muggles heard._

_Apparently, the crowd of students were too busy to pay attention to them anyways, since they were now kicking and spitting on their 'professor'._

_"I didn't fall on purpose." Hermione muttered as her friend's all stared back at her in shock._

_"How is that—?" Neville looked speechless._

_"Hermione, that's horrible." Luna mumbled in a less dreamy-tone then usual._

_"What happened after I fell? I went unconscious after that. How did Nick save me?" Hermione asked curiously._

_"We watched from about—fifty feet away with muggle binoculars Luna brought. He grabbed some rope, tied it to a pole, then jumped off the bridge himself, and dove into the water looking for you. He was in there for so long, we thought he'd drown too." Ginny explained._

_"Oh. What are you doing here?" Hermione continued to ask._

_"Well—we all had a spare—except Ginny, she had Divinations, but she decided to skip that." _

_Hermione had a frown on her face when she heard this, but she brightened up when she heard what Ron said next._

_"We came because well—I know it's early but... Happy Birthday Hermione." Ron grinned as he pulled something out of his robes, and gave it to her._

_The other four friends all did the same, and Ginny pulled out a small bag afterwards._

_"It's presents from the D.A. and Gryffindors. They knew we were going to skip school and come over here. They decided to place all their presents in a bag, then we shrank it." Ginny said as she handed both the present and the small bag to Hermione._

_"What? But—how am I supposed to carry this back to my dorm? I can't use magic!" Hermione said as she stared at them in confusion._

_"Actually—Dumbledore called in a few favours, you can use your magic outside of school now Hermione. Fudge didn't owl you because he didn't want you to know." Ron said with a disgusted look on his face._

_"What? How's that—wow." Hermione gasped as she realized the responsibility she had been given._

_"Here's the thing, we'll put our presents in the bag too, and you can look through it all when you get back. Hagrid also gave us a present to give to you that's in the bag. And I think a few professor told McGonagall to put their presents to you in the bag too. We had it placed out in the common room, and anyone who wanted to give you a present could put it in. Wait til you see what's inside it. Anyways, we'd better go, Neville and I've got double potions next." Ron muttered as a grim expression appeared._

_Hermione smiled slightly, and her friends each gave her a quick hug before leaving, not caring that she was soaking wet._

**END FLASHBACK**

Hermione smiled slightly as she looked at the large bag she had just enlarged, she was about to open it and look through it when she heard a hooting sound from outside her window. She looked out, expecting Hedwig to be there, waiting to enter.

But she was shocked when she saw a raven haired boy in jeans and a t-shirt sitting under a tree. Hedwig was on his shoulder, and he seemed to be speaking to it. Hermione had trouble seeing who the person was, since he was so far away, but the first thought that came to her mind was simple...

"Harry!" she whispered as she turned around, and ran out of her room, hoping to catch him before he disappeared. She never considerer the thought of going out through her window, because if she had... she would have seen the direction Harry James Potter headed in as he walked away with an invisible white snowy owl.

**A/N: **_More reviews, faster updates! So review!_


	8. Returning to the Lion

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (8) Returning to the Lion

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Hermione zoomed past the crowd of people, and ran out into the quiet, peaceful lawn outside looking around frantically. No one. No one was there under the tree anymore. Hedwig was gone too.

She began to run around the school, searching and searching. But she couldn't find the white snowy owl or Harry James Potter anywhere...

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Harry slid open the window to his room, and told Hedwig to fly into it. The owl followed his instructions, and after making sure she was inside, Harry climbed into the room himself, and closed the window afterwards. He shut the blinds too, then turned and removed the invisibility charm off of it.

"Hey girl." He whispered as he approached it, and tried to pat it on the head.

But Hedwig pecked at his hand, as if trying to express her feelings, and tell him she's mad at him for leaving her at Hermione's.

"Come on... you and I both know why you had to go—how's she doing? I hear she's got a crazy roommate." Harry smiled slightly as he made another attempt to pat the owl.

This time, Hedwig didn't attack. As he stroked her feathers, Harry continued to speak to it.

"They miss me don't they? They're panicking like mad. I saw the look in Hermione's eyes when she woke up and thought I was—well, me." Harry had a lop-sided grin on his face now.

"Maybe I should write a letter to Dumbledore... or Ron... or the D.A. But then... what would I write?" Harry asked out loud.

"I need to talk to someone..." he whispered at last as he stopped stroking Hedwig, and walked over to his closet, and pulled something out. It was a mini mirror.

He held it upwards, and whispered "Kazu."

An image of the man appeared, and Harry smiled slightly.

"What's wrong young one?" Kazu asked.

"Hermione nearly died today. She also nearly found out who I am." Harry muttered.

"What happened?" Kazu questioned curiously.

Harry explained everything to her, right down to the final details of Justin Wood being expelled. The man seemed to look older and older by each second now.

"You risked too much there. After all the training and tutoring you went through in the last month—don't waste it all by having to return to the Wizarding world. You're not ready yet." Kazu stated as Harry sighed.

"Do you have the gift ready?" Harry asked.

Kazu nodded.

"It looks amazing; I placed over two hundred charms onto it. The picture of you and her from last Christmas is inside." Kazu answered as Harry nodded.

"The potion?"

"I'll bring over the ingredients; you can brew it yourself—"

"But Kazu—"

"No buts, how do you intend on improving your potions skills if you don't practice? I'll bring all the equipment over right now, so you can start. You do understand that once you turn back to your old self, your scar will reappear, you'll be back to where you were a month ago, and your hair would change back. Not to mention—your connection with Voldemort will be reopened, are you sure you want to do this?" Kazu double checked.

Harry nodded.

"I'll be right there."

The image of Kazu blurred, and then disappeared just as the real man appeared in front of Harry, holding a book, and piles of equipment behind him.

"Here you go." Kazu said as he handed Harry the book.

Harry opened it, and took a peek at it, then grinned in approval.

"Thanks a million Kazu." Harry said as Kazu waved it off.

"Come on now, get it brewed. You'll need to have to have both transformation potions for turning back to a month earlier and turning back to what you are now done before you leave. And here's the cloak." Kazu instructed as he handed Harry a large black death-eater like cloak.

"Are you planning on bringing your wand?" he asked as Harry nodded.

"Just in case." He muttered, as he goes to work.

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_Ten Hours Later_

Harry finally finished both the potions, and quickly cleaned up the equipment with a wave of his hand, Kazu had left hours ago, and Harry hadn't left the room at all. He now held in his hands, two vials of transformation potions. The potions were illegal, but Harry didn't care. He used it anyways.

He gulped down the first one, and watched as he slowly changed back to Harry James Potter. He placed the other vial that was left into a metal chest box and locked it. Then he changed into a pair of dark blue jeans, and a white t-shirt with the Gryffindor crest on it.

After pulling his black death-eater like cloak on, Harry turned to Hedwig, who hooted in approval, then pulled open his window, and climbed through it. Hedwig followed him afterwards, and he locked the window with a wave of his hand.

"Show the way girl." Harry said as he stuck his right hand into his pocket, and fingered the book he planned to give to Hermione for her birthday.

Hedwig began to fly, and Harry ran after her, after a minute or two, Harry and the white snowy owl stopped outside a window.

"Is this it?" Harry asked.

Hedwig nodded.

Harry pulled his wand out, and muttered the unlocking charm.

The window was immediately unlocked, and Harry pulled it open after placing a silencing charm on it. When he got inside, he whispered "_Lumos_".

As he looked around, he noticed that Hermione was no where in sight. But a large pile of presents could be seen on her bed. Harry held his wand out, using the light that appeared at the tip of it to see what Hermione had gotten from Ron and the rest of her friends.

He flipped opened a photo album, inside, were pictures of some of the D.A. meetings, and many of the Quidditch games. When he reached the end, he found a picture of him, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna sitting together at the hospital wing chatting. It was after the incident at the ministry.

'_Colin must've snuck in and taken the picture when we weren't looking.'_ Harry thought as he close the book, and made a move to look at some of the other presents.

But suddenly, he felt a tip of a wand make contact with his head, and before he could do anything, he heard someone whisper: "Move, and you're dead."

Harry froze in his steps, wondering if it was Hermione who had said that. The light was suddenly opened, and Harry realized that it was Hermione.

"Drop your wand now. Then turn around slowly, and remove your hood from your head—death eater." Hermione accused in a hiss.

Harry did as he was told, and dropped his wand onto the ground. He turned around slowly, and raised his hand to remove his hood. When he did, Hermione dropped her own wand in shock, and stared back at him in utter disbelief.

"Harry?"

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**_A little interview one of my friendly friends decided to do to answer some of your questions! Let's call her Cheesy for the time being..._**

****

**Cheesy:** "Hey Laen, ready for the interview?"

**Laen:** "Yeah. Of course!"

**Cheesy:** "Okay then, here's the first question some of your readers have been wondering. Is the paring going to be Harry and Hermione during this fanfic?"

**Laen:** "Well, yeah! It clearly states that in the summary I've got on my profile, plus I'm a huge Harry and Hermione fan myself. They're perfect for each other."

**Cheesy:** "Will Hermione find out that Nicholas Cliffmore is really Harry Potter?"

**Laen: **"She will... eventually... yes, I know, I'm evil. In a great way apparently, as 'lostangel92' would put it... but anyways, she will, after Christmas though. I'm still trying to decide how that's going to happen."

**Cheesy:** "What exactly happened during Harry's summer with Kazu?"

**Laen: **"Well... he lived life like a normal teenage wizard... other then the fact that normal teenage wizards don't spend half their time learning wandless magic, loads of spells, training their newly-found telepathic powers and finding ways to kill Voldemort—ooops! I've said too much!"

**Cheesy: **"That's okay, I'm sure the readers don't mind at all. Anyways, what's going to happen next?"

**Laen:** "Can't tell you _too_ much about that... but Charlie Creevey will be removed from the story temporarily around chapter 15 or so. He'll return after Hermione and 'Nick' go to Hogwarts. Which is sometime before Christmas."

**Cheesy: **"Oo... I see, well, why doesn't Harry want to tell Hermione who he really is?"

**Laen: **"In a way, he's kind of scared that Hermione might tell someone at Hogwarts, and word might get to Dumbledore. He doesn't really want to return to being 'the-boy-who-lived', and having to kill Tom and all, even though he knows he has to. A quicker answer would be he doesn't want to be found."

**Cheesy:** "Why doesn't Harry want Dumbledore to know where he is? How come he doesn't want to go back? Think you could answer that in more detail?"

**Laen: **"Well, Dumbledore should've told Harry about the prophecy... and he shouldn't have let him take those lesson with Snape... that spy is evil... And as to why he doesn't want to go back? Well... like I said earlier, he's kind of tired of being 'the-boy-who-lived'. He's just lost Sirius, and if he goes back, he's scared that everyone will treat him differently. He doesn't want to be treated differently. He just wants to be normal, which is why he doesn't want to be found."

**Cheesy: **"We see that 'Nick' is trying quite hard to avoid being discovered, but after the incident with saving her life, isn't it kind of obvious?"

**Laen: **"Indeed, it is, in a way, more obvious. But then, he's no longer got the scar, so no one would recognize him. Even if they think he is Harry Potter, they wouldn't be able to prove it. Harry might not want to be discovered, but when it comes to his friends, he would give anything in the world to make sure they're safe."

**Cheesy: **"In the summary you've posted on your profile, you clearly stated that the D.A. wasn't going to be just 'some club', but instead, an Order. What's with that?"

**Laen: **"Well... um... he's going to take charge of it of course, he won't let the adults know, and it'll only be a few of the more... trusted members of the D.A. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna... and some graduates."

**Cheesy: **"Okay, last question, since you mentioned Harry's going back to Hogwarts in the form of Nick, does he plan on taking on a brand new attitude? And if he does, for what reason?"

**Laen:** "I can't say too much, or it'll give out too many spoilers... and I've given too much anyways... but... um... He'll rebel when he's back at Hogwarts. He'll act like a Slytherin... his new attitude kind of... in a way, cause Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors not to trust him... but it comes in handy when he get information from big-mouth Draco about Voldemort."

**Cheesy: **"Well, thanks for your time, and I hope we have another interview like this in the near future during one of your chapters."

**Laen: **"The feelings mutual... anyways, buh-bye!"

**NOTE: PLEASE REVIEW! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE ANSWERED, PLEASE ADD THEM IN. INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS WILL BE ADDED DURING ON DURING THE STORY IF NEEDED.**


	9. Happy Birthday, Hermione Granger

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (9) Happy Birthday, Hermione Granger

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not Mine, I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes, standing in front of her, was Harry James Potter. The boy—no, teenager everyone had been searching for in the last month.

"Harry?" she whispered in shock as the raven haired boy in front of her smiled slightly.

"Hey Hermione." He whispered back.

Before Harry could say anything else, Hermione ran forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, and refused to let go.

"I _can't_ breathe Hermione!" Harry gasped.

"Hey Hermione? Hey Hermione? That's all you can say after you go missing for a month? Harry James Potter—I... I'm not letting you go. You'll just run away again! Do you have any idea how much you worried us in the last month? The order's going crazy searching for you, Mrs. Weasley bursts out crying all the time, and Ron looks like he's depressed with sadness!" Hermione practically shouted.

Harry managed to wave his hand, and place an silencing charm around the room.

"Hermione—I—I'm not going anywhere—not yet at least." Harry said as Hermione's grip on him loosened and she released him.

"What do you mean not yet?" Hermione asked as she looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry—I'm really sorry... I wish I didn't have to go—but I was given a new chance—to live life as a normal kid—at a normal school. Away from the magical world." Harry whispered.

"You can take the boy away from the magic, but you can't take the magic away from the boy, Harry." Hermione stated as Harry looked away in pain.

"I'm no longer a boy anymore 'Mione. Somewhere along the line, I grew up." Harry muttered with a frown.

"What?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"I'm not longer the childish eleven year old boy you met on the train. I've grown up in the past month, around muggles and muggle technology. Hell—I'm even going to a bloody muggle school. I don't want to go back to Hogwarts—can't you tell the order to stop looking for me?" Harry asked in a reply.

"Why don't you want them to look for you Harry? What's so bad about the Wizarding world right now?" Hermione questioned demandingly.

"Voldemort wants me dead—because I'm the only one who can kill him." Harry whispered, he noticed that Hermione was now shaking. With anger, fear, or pain, he couldn't tell.

"You can't tell anyone—not even Ron. I've already placed you under a charm, you can't talk about it under the presence of someone that doesn't know." Harry said as Hermione suddenly looked up at him with a look that could kill on her face.

"How dare you? You come in unannounced and tell me that you're the only one who can kill Voldemort then tell me I can't tell anyone" Hermione growled.

"What makes you think I'd actually forgive you for coming in here unannounced in the first place?" Hermione continued.

"Because—you're you." Harry whispered in a soft voice as he stared into Hermione's eyes.

Hermione watched as a look of pain, confusion, and sadness flashed through Harry's eyes, and immediately, the angry look on her face turned into worry.

"Harry, I didn't mean to—I—"

"I'll just go." Harry whispered as he turned to leave, but Hermione ran forward, and grabbed him again, not willing to let him go.

"Please—don't! I can't lose you too! I don't even know when I'll see Ron and everyone else again, plus I'm stuck at Scotland High with a horrible roommate—I—Harry, please... don't go." Hermione uttered as tears began to stream down her face onto Harry's shoulder.

Harry shut his eyes, trying to push the pain away from his mind, but he failed, and slowly, a drop of tear formed in his eye, and as he blinked, it slid down his left cheek. Hermione finally looked up at him after a while, and was shocked to see the one drop of tear.

"Harry—" she began, but Harry cut in.

"This is the reason I shouldn't be here... I cause too much pain. I'm sorry Hermione."

Hermione Granger shook her head, not wanting to accept the excuse.

"You're right when you say you're not the Harry I met on the train in our first year—because the Harry I knew wouldn't run away from his problems." Hermione whispered as Harry shut his eyes again.

When he opened them, Hermione realized how much damage her words had done. Harry's eyes were now filled with tears, and pain was seen through the expression on his face.

"I'm sorry... I didn't think before I speak... I'm sorry."

"How Gryffindor of you." Harry muttered as he blinked, and another drop of tear slid down his face, this time, on the right side.

Hermione reached her hand forward, and wiped the tear off his cheek with her fingers.

"Harry—I know how you feel—"

"No you don't." Harry cut in once more, "You don't know how it feels to be trapped during summer, as if there's no way out. As if no one out there can help you, at all. There's so much going on, but you can't do anything."

Hermione shook her head in disagreement.

"I know how it feels. I went through all of it in the last month. My parents refused to let me go to Hogwarts. They pulled me out and moved here, so I can attend this—private school." Hermione spat out in disgust.

Harry looked away, not wanting to look into the eyes of his best friend.

"Harry, look at me." Hermione whispered.

**BEEP! BEEP!**

Hermione's watched beeped twelve o' clock, and slowly, Harry turned back to meet the gaze of the sixteen year old teenage girl.

"Happy birthday Hermione." Harry whispered as he reached into his pocket, and pulled the present out, then handed it to her.

"_Hogwarts, A History_?" Hermione read the title of the book out loud, then looked up at Harry in disbelief.

"Harry, I've had a copy of this book since my first year!"

Harry shrugged, then suddenly, a pained expression appeared onto his face. His hand raised to his forehead.

"Damn!" he gasped as he fell to his knees.

"Harry? Harry! Are you alright?" Hermione asked as she dropped the book onto her bed, and knelt down to help him.

"I've—I've got to go—Voldemort—the connection—ahh..." Harry struggled not to cry out as in as he grabbed the side of his head.

"I need to go—I'm sorry Hermione—I need to go—please—don't follow me—please." Harry whispered as he got back to his feet, and turned around to leave.

"Harry no!" Hermione yelled, but it was too late, the sixteen year old wizard had already leaped out of the window—literally, pulling himself into a roll, and landing onto the grass safely, he turned, and ran for it.

By the time Hermione had stuck her head out to call him back, he had already disappeared.


	10. A Magical Wand

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (10) A _Magical_ Wand

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Harry struggled to get back into his room, he continued to run... and run... behind him, Hedwig flew after him, trying hard to keep up with him.

When he had finally reached his room, the first thing he did was summon the chest where the vile of potion was in. He unlocked it, took the potion out, and drank it in one gulp.

Gasping from tiredness and pain, he climbed into his room, shut the window, and fell back onto his bed in a dreamless sleep.

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Hermione took the copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ Harry had given her, and placed it in her bookshelf, by the other hundreds of books she had. She was about to head to sleep, when she suddenly stepped on something.

She looked down, and realized it was Harry's wand. Picking it up, she checked it if was broken or not. To her disbelief, it was.

"Oh bloody hell!" Hermione swore, using one of the phrases Ron always said.

Harry wasn't going to be happy once he found out about that...

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"You _left_ your wand in her room?" Kazu asked in shock as Harry nodded slowly.

"What are you? Stupid?"

Harry shrugged.

"Merlin's beard! Listen kid, there no way you can get another wand unless you go down to Diagon Alley... and there are way too many people in London looking for you—"

"What do I do now? My wandless magic does have a limit! I can't even summon things that are further then thirty feet away!" Harry cried out.

"Let me finish! You can't buy a wand without risking the chance of being discovered... but you can make one." Kazu explained as Harry's jaw fell.

"Make one?" Harry's voice came out in barely a whisper, and he looked like he was in shock.

"Yes! Make one! Mind you, it's damn hard—and the material you need for a proper wand are no where near this area—the only way you'd be able make one is... is..."

"Well?" Harry cut in.

"Well... you have to... how do I say this? The core you'll be using for the wand—it'll be magic."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"I kind of knew that already."

"No! That's not what I meant—usually a core of a wand is a phoenix feather, or unicorn hair—but for your wand, it'll just be _magic_."

Harry frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like wandless magic, you find the magic within you... and you lead it all towards the palm of your hands—like this... watch." Kazu said as he closed his eyes, and held his right palm upwards.

After a few seconds, a bright light appeared, and slowly, the man began to change its size. Harry watched in disbelief as the older wizard continued to fool around with his magic. At last, the orb of light disappeared, and Kazu opened his eyes again.

"Understand?" he asked.

"Yes. Can I try?"

Kazu nodded.

Harry closed his eyes, and held his palm up, just like Kazu had showed him, and tried hard to form an orb of energy. After what seemed like minutes, Harry heard Kazu sigh.

"You're doing it wrong. You can't force it to appear, you have to use the magic within you—search within yourself." Kazu explained.

"It's like when you say the words _lumos_ light just appears out of your wand, why is that? Magic... try that spell... see what happens."

Harry did as he was told, and soon, a _very_ small orb of light appeared onto his hand. The warm, tickling sensation caused him to open his eyes slowly.

"Wow..." he whispered when he saw it.

"How can I be sure it's not just light?" he asked as he raised his left hand, and moved it towards the orb that floated in the palm of his right hand.

"Touch it, and you'll know."

Harry poked at it, and the moment he did, he felt a burst of power flow through him. He gasped when he felt it, and for a few seconds, the orb flickered slightly, as if threatening to go out.

"Bloody hell!"

Harry pulled his hand away in shock, and the orb disappeared completely.

"Not bad for a first try. Keep at it—I say you would be able to get a wand made by Christmas." Kazu said as Harry's eyes widened.

"Christmas? That's—that's months away!" Harry cried out.

"What's your point?" Kazu asked.

Harry sighed, and gave up on the argument.

"When will I realize I have enough um... magic in the palm of my hands to turn into a wand?"

"No idea." Kazu answered.

"What?"

"I've no idea at all. I've been trying to make one myself for the last few years—haven't been able to get it done yet."

"Few years? If it took you that long to even get to where you are, why do you say I'll be able to get one made by Christmas?" Harry questioned.

"I said Christmas, I didn't say which year. For all we know, it might be in ten years... but then, if you're lucky, and if you're really powerful... maybe five years." Kazu now had a smile on his face.

"You're joking right?" Harry asked.

The smile disappeared, and a serious expression replaced it.

"The last magical wand that was created known to existence was by Merlin, and it exploded when the wizard died. It may be hard to create, but it's bloody powerful. No wizard or witch other then the creature can use it. It works to your advantage, and the magic you can produce will end up a thousand times more powerful then usual." Kazu said as Harry sighed deeply.

"I understand," Harry whispered as he closed his eyes again, and made another attempt to collect his magic.


	11. Women! Psh!

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (11) Women! Psh!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Time flew quickly while Harry was at Scotland High, and soon, it was Halloween. The actual day of the holiday was on a Sunday, and Harry was less then surprised to see the behaviour of the student population that day.

Parties were being prepared, rooms were being trashed, students were getting detention... the list went on and on. The teachers were having a hard time keeping control of the hormone-crazed teenagers, and since the beginning of the year, over half a dozen students had already been expelled.

In the last few weeks, Harry tried hard to avoid Hermione at all costs, but had complications when the girl kept on approaching him trying to thank him for saving her life.

In the end, he just stood there for an hour listening to her ramble on and on about the content she should have learned about in the book. If Charlie hadn't walked by and saved him, he probably would still be standing there.

Speaking of Charlie, Harry had noticed that the sixteen year old teenager had left Scotland High for the weekend. Apparently, he was going down to Hogwarts to talk to his siblings about something. Harry didn't have a chance to ask what was going on, for Charlie zoomed out of the apartment the moment he heard something was wrong.

The 'wand-making' of the magical wand was still on its way, and by now, the amount of magic Harry was able to collect was nearly the size Kazu had. Harry hadn't spent the entire last few weeks of school just learning and practicing how to collect magic, he had also concentrated on his studies.

After one of the biggest exams their chemistry teacher, Professor Sever had given them, Harry was shocked to find out that he had gotten the highest mark in the class. Even higher then Hermione. The muggle-born witch on the other hand, seemed completely disappointed in herself.

She pushed herself harder then she did before at Hogwarts, and was slowly improving with ease. Harry on the other hand, was able to keep up with the way the teachers were teaching. The voice inside his head, helped quite a lot. But when it came to girls... it didn't help at all...

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"Nick! Nick!" a girl's voice could be heard approaching Harry as the raven haired boy turned to see who was calling him.

A girl that was from Harry's history class—Harry recognized her as Krista Goldstein, Hermione's roommate—was chasing after him.

"Um... yeah?" Harry asked as she skids to a stop.

Krista handed him a card.

**_YOU ARE INVITED TO THE HALLOWEEN BASH AT C.C. HALL!_**

****

"Um... ok." Harry said as he opened the card slowly and read it.

_It's next to the gym, just look for the building with loads of people surrounding it._

_Come at 7pm, don't be late._

"Ok... why are you giving me this?" Harry asked as he looked up at Krista.

"I need a date, and it's tonight." Krista said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok. Yeah... um... why are you giving me this?" Harry repeated in confusion.

"I need a date! Aren't you going to ask me to go with you?" Krista asked in irritation.

"Um... I... I... I didn't plan on going." Harry mumbled as Krista frowned.

"Start planning then! You can come with me! I'm the perfect date! You can pick me up at the gym, see you at seven!" Krista said cheerfully as she kissed him on the cheek, then hurried off.

Harry stood there frozen in his spot. Still shocked at what happened.

"What the hell?" he asked out loud suddenly after he realized what just occurred.

"Watch your language!" a teacher scowled as she walked by.

"Sorry." Harry muttered as he turned and headed towards his dorm.

If he planned on going to this Halloween bash... he needed a costume. And he had the perfect idea too...

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"Krista! Where are you going?" Hermione asked as she watched her roommate walk out of the bathroom dressed in a weird costume.

"Halloween Bash. The school set it up, haven't you heard? I'm going with Nicholas Cliffmore!" Krista said smugly, as if trying to prove to Hermione she was better then her.

"You should come. Everyone who's _popular_ is coming." Krista added as Hermione frowned slightly.

"Sure, why not." Hermione said as she went back into her room.

She had already finished all her homework, and had nothing else to do. It wouldn't hurt to 'party' every once in a while... plus, she hadn't worn her Hogwarts uniform in a long time...

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"Nicky!" Krista said happily as she ran up to Nicholas, and gave him a hug.

Hermione had a hard time preventing herself from bursting out into laughter when she saw the horrified expression on his face. But a shocked expression appeared onto her own face when she saw what he was dressed up in.

A black death-eater like cloak. Just like the one Harry had worn a few weeks ago when he visited her on her birthday. What was even worse, was Nicholas even had a mask.

"Merlin's beard—there are death eaters at the school." Hermione gasped in worry as she looked around herself.

She now wished she had brought her wand.


	12. Costume Attack

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (12) Costume Attack

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Harry walked slowly and awkwardly towards the building the Halloween bash was supposed to be in with Krista jumping along happily at his side. She had dressed up in a little devil suit, and apparently, a lot of people loved it, since it showed her evil, scary, and disgusting nature.

Under the death eater mask Harry wore, the sixteen year old boy was having a hard time staying calm. In a way, he was excited to go to this Halloween bash, but he was also scared that another wizard or witch would see him, and try to kill him thinking he was actually a death eater. His theory nearly came through.

"What are you?" a voice behind him hissed.

Harry turned to see Hermione standing there in her Hogwarts uniform, and a look on her face that could kill.

"What?"

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

Harry was stunned for a moment, and then he began to laugh. A look of both annoyance and anger appeared onto the sixteen year old witch's face immediately.

"Why's so funny?" she asked.

"Usually it's Ron who uses those phrases... guess he's rubbed off on you eh?"

Hermione frowned.

"Answer my question—"

"Hermione, leave my date alone!" Krista said angrily.

"I was merely asking him a question and I wish that he answers it—"

"Krista! O my God! Amazing costume! And you're date! Wow! I'm sorry to say he's not the first I've seen wearing that thing. There were at least a dozen people that have entered that were dressed up in the same costume as him. What is it? Scream?" a girl named Amy asked in an annoying tone as she approached them.

"A dozen? Wearing the exact same costume as me?" Harry asked as Hermione asked: "Are you sure other people were wearing costumes like that?"

"What are you wearing?" Amy asked in disgust as she took a look at Hermione's costume.

"None of your business. Excuse me." Hermione asked as she entered the building.

"I'll see you inside." Harry said as he wrenched himself away from Krista, and into the entrance of the building, hoping to lose himself in the crowd of students.

When he got in though, he was quite shocked with the decorations and music in the background.

Eerie music could be heard from all around, and there were spider webs, skeletons, and pumpkins everywhere. Everyone was dressed up in some weird costume, but if there was something Harry couldn't miss, it was the fact that all exits in the building were being guarded by people in the same 'costume' as him.

"You! Get into your position! Go ask the mudblood for a dance already you idiot!" a person next to him hissed.

Harry turned, and saw a death eater standing there.

"Well? Hurry up, or I'll get your father, and we don't want to see what happens then, do we, Malfoy?"

It was Avery. Harry could recognize the voice anywhere. He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak for him, and headed towards the crowd, looking for Hermione.

He found her by the drinks table, sipping on some punch. He immediately snatched the drink out of her hand, and took a whiff of it.

"What the—what do you think you're doing?" Hermione asked in shock.

"It's been spiked... damn, half the people here are drunk!" Harry exclaimed angrily as he placed the cup onto the table.

"What do you mean? Spiked?" Hermione continued to question.

Harry grabbed her arm roughly, knowing that the death eaters were watching from all around them, and led her towards the dance floor, then pulled her closer so they were in a dancing position.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Hermione's voice sounded dangerous and angry, and if it was any other situation, Harry probably would've let go and ran for his life... but it wasn't.

"Just dance and listen Granger," Harry hissed in a cold tone under his breath as his eyes flickered around the room, to see who was watching him.

Every death eater that was in the room had their eyes on him, and Harry gulped before sighing deeply.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Tom Riddle has sent his slaves after you." Harry answered in cold.

"Tom Riddle? Slaves? What the—"

Harry pulled her closer, and leaned forward so he could whisper right into her ear.

"Death Eaters. Every exit."

He said it very slowly, and the moment he had finished explaining, Hermione's body went stiff.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice quivered in fear, and Harry felt a stab of pain in his heart.

"I was told to keep an eye on you. By the seeker of your house."

Once again, he answered in code, only this time, Hermione understood it.

"Harry sent you?" she asked in shock.

"Yes, keep it to yourself. Last thing I need is the ruddy order on my tail asking me a load of questions."

"Are you—you're—you're Nicholas Cliffmore right? There's so many people in the death eater costumes I don't even know who's who." Hermione whispered.

"I am. But like I said, keep it to yourself." Harry replied as he slowly pulled himself away from her.

"Let's get out of here," he decided as he wrapped one of his arms around her waist, hoping he would be able to pull her out of the way of danger if the death eaters planned on attacking anytime soon.

When the two Gryffindors finally got out of the building, Harry began to led her towards his dorm—hoping that the wards Kazu had placed upon it would be enough to hold the death eaters off.


	13. At Last, Success!

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (13) At Last, Success!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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"Come on... hurry up." Harry whispered as he and Hermione picked up pace.

Behind him, he could hear footsteps approaching... very hurried footsteps.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked under her breath.

"My dorm," was all Harry could say as he dodged a beam of grey light.

"Stop that mudblood! And kill the imposter! Hurry Draco!" Lucius Malfoy's voice cried out as Harry pulled both him and Hermione out of the way of another beam of grey light.

"It's up ahead!" Harry yelled as they got closer to the window that led to his room.

He waved his hand, and the window suddenly flew open.

"Dive in!" he instructed, and that was exactly what Hermione did.

He did the same afterwards, and pulled himself into a roll as he landed. Spinning around, he waved his hand again, and the window shut tight.

"Trigger the wards!" he said as a breeze of magic blew past him.

He pulled his mask off, and removed the death-eater like cloak. Underneath, he wore something similar to what he wore the last time he visited Hermione on her birthday.

"Gryffindor crest—you don't go to Hogwarts!" Hermione cried out when she saw what he wore.

Harry ignored her, and ran to his closet. He flung it open, and looked through his stuff, trying to find the communication mirror he had used to contact Kazu earlier. When he couldn't find it, he began to panic.

He looked outside the window, and saw that the spells and hexes of the death eaters all bounced off the wards... they were safe—for now.

"Do you have your wand?" Harry asked as he turned to Hermione.

"No, I left it back in my room." Hermione whispered in reply, she now had a horrified expression on his face.

"Damn—I—mine went missing a while back—unless... unless..." Harry frowned slightly, and began to ask himself if he should do it or not.

"Unless what?" Hermione snapped angrily.

"Unless I create a wand, we won't be able to defeat those death eaters—or make them leave at least!" Harry explained.

"You can't just make a wand unless you have the proper materials!" Hermione shouted.

"I know! I know okay? I tried to tell Kazu that but he proved me wrong! Now shut up while I concentrate!" Harry hissed as he shut his eyes.

When he felt the warm tingle of magic appear above his palm, he heard Hermione gasp. He continued to collect magic, for a moment it was as if he had an endless pit of it. Then suddenly, it ran out.

He began to panic as he searched his soul for the rest of the magic he needed to complete the wand, but it wasn't there.

_'No!'_ he thought to himself as he began to pant.

_'Unless... would it work?'_ he asked himself as he raised his left hand, and moved it towards his right, and using both his hands, he covered the magic.

A burst of powerful magic flowed through him once again, and he gasped for air once more. He quickly collected it, and using his mind, he began to will the magic to form.

Slowly at first, it formed into a square like form. Then, Harry continued to form it, and finally, it was the shape of a wand. He opened his eyes, and a faint smile appeared onto his face when he saw the white wand in his hand.

Then, something unexpected happened. Harry's vision went blurry, and he staggered to keep his balance. Hermione grabbed him immediately, making sure he didn't collapse.

"Take it—you have to stop them before they harm the other students." Harry whispered as he handed her the wand.

"But—the wand chooses the witch or wizard! It won't work as well and—"

"Please." Harry pleaded as he fell to his knees.

"Nick!" Hermione cried out.

"Please—stop them... before they kill—please..." Harry's eyes slowly closed, and he fell to the ground unconscious.

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"Dear Merlin! What do I do now?" Hermione asked as she looked at the wand she held in her hand, then at the window.

Nicholas' words flashed through her mind: _'You have to stop them before they harm the other students...'_.

"What would Harry do?" Hermione asked out loud.

_'Stop them... before they kill.'_

Hermione got to her feet, and walked towards the window, her wand raised. She noticed that the death eaters outside had stopped trying to break through the wards, and were now waiting for her to make the first move.

Using the wand, she opened the window with a swish. To her surprise, she didn't even have to say the incantation. The moment the window opened, spells came soaring into the room. Hermione ducked a few of them, before sending one back.

"Stupefy!" Hermione shouted.

Large beams of light went shooting out of the window, and when Hermione looked out to see what had happened, she was even more shocked to see that all the death eaters were lying on the ground unconscious.

"One stunning spell did all that?" Hermione asked in shock.

She turned to Nicholas, and woke him up with a wave of the white wand. The raven-haired boy woke up gasping, and calmed down only after he realized it was her.

"Hermione, what happened to the death eaters?" Nicholas asked as a loud pop was heard from behind them.

The two students both turned, and saw a man in emerald green Wizarding robes standing there staring at them.

"Kazu..." Nicholas whispered as he tried to get to his feet.

"Stay, young dragon. I shall handle this with the ministry—as for you Miss Granger, I suggest you stay here for the night." The man—Kazu said as he pulled his wand out, and waved it.

A purple sleeping bag appeared shortly, and he turned towards the window. Before walking towards it—and right through the wall. Both Hermione and Nicholas watched in shock as he headed towards the unconscious death eaters.

"What the hell?" Nicholas asked when he finally collected himself.

"Exactly what I was going to say." Hermione mumbled as she handed him the wand back.


	14. Damn Ministry

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (14) Damn Ministry

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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"You can sleep on the bed, I'll use the sleeping bag." Harry muttered as he got to his feet.

"Sorry about the mess." He said when he realized a few things in his room had been destroyed during the attack.

"That would be my fault... I opened the window." Hermione explained as Harry shrugged.

He waved his wand, and immediately, everything was repaired.

"How did you do that? Without saying anything?" Hermione asked.

"It's all in here." Harry said as he pointed to his head.

"We should probably get some sleep. There's class tomorrow." Harry muttered as he grabbed some of a clean t-shirt and sweat pants out of his closet, and threw it to Hermione.

"Washroom's right outside to the left. There's extra tooth-brushes in the drawers." He said as he grabbed his cloak, and stuffed it into his closet, before pulling another pair of sweat pants out.

As he did that, Hermione left to get changed silently. When she returned, she noticed that the death eaters were all gone.

"Take the bed, I'm going to go wash up." He said as he left the room.

After a few minutes, he returned, and was shocked to see that Hermione was being harassed by two wizards.

"I'm telling you! I didn't do underage magic! Dumbledore gave me permission and—"

"Do you actually think we'll believe that? Dumbledore's a fool! He's even gone and lost Harry Potter—"

"He didn't lose Harry! I saw him only a few weeks ago and—"

"Shut up mudblood!" a wizard hissed angrily.

Harry moved to grab his wand—which was on his table, but the wizards were too quick. They both raised their wands, and pointed it at him.

"Step away from the wand kid. What's your name?" one of the wizards with short blonde hair asked.

"Nicholas Cliffmore." Harry answered as the other wizard, who had long wild dirty blonde hair wrote the name down onto the clipboard he held.

"Last we checked, there was only one muggleborn at Scotland High," the wizard with dirty blonde hair said.

"Who said I was muggleborn?" Harry asked.

"No pureblood parent would let their child go to a muggle private school." The blonde man stated.

"What's your point? Now, if you don't mind, we have classes tomorrow. So if you could... _get out_." Harry spat the last two words out, and glared at the two ministry wizards.

"Now wait a second here! We're not done questioning you two yet!" the wizard with long hair—Harry decided to nickname him 'Hippy'—said as Harry shrugged.

"Do I care? No, now get out. We have the right to kick you out." Harry said as he moved towards his desk, and picked his wand up.

"Put the wand down kid—" the blonde man—Harry nicknamed him 'Blondie'—hissed as Harry ignored him.

"What'll you do if I don't?" Harry asked as he pointed the wand at the two ministry wizards.

A dangerously cruel smirk appeared onto _Hippy's _face. He moved his wand, until it was pointed at Hermione's head.

"The mudblood dies." He growled as Harry's face paled.

"Get out!" Harry yelled as he pointed his wand at the window.

The glass, frame, curtain, everything—was ripped off the wall, leaving a large hole there, big enough for a man to walk through.

"Get out!" Harry repeated as his hand began to shake.

"What'll you do if we don't?" Blondie asked, repeating Harry's words.

"You'll end up dead." Harry said coldly.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Hippy asked.

"No, not at all. But this is." Harry answered as he waved his wand.

The two wizard were suddenly hit by something invisible, and they both shot out of the room through the hole Harry had created earlier. With another wave of Harry's wand, the wall and window was repaired.

"Trigger the wards." Harry said as the wards were suddenly raised.

With another wave of his wand, the blinds and curtains covered the window, and Harry sighed.

"Damn ministry," he whispered as he walked towards the sleeping bag Kazu had left behind.

He opened it, and got ready to sleep.

"You can sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor—this is your room after all." Hermione said as Harry shook his head.

"Go to sleep, don't force me to place a sleeping charm on you—but if I have to, I will." Harry muttered as he got into his sleeping bag.

Hermione sighed, closed the light, and got into bed. There was a few seconds of silence before she spoke.

"Nick?"

"Hm?" Harry replied tiredly.

"How did you make that wand?"

"Magic." Harry mumbled as he yawned.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I used the magic I had within me, and made it—the wand will now amplify the holder's magic by a thousand times. You need permission from the owner to use it though, or the spell or hex will reflect on you." Harry yawned again.

"Oh."

"Get some sleep." Harry muttered as he shut his eyes.

"Okay. And Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Good-Night."

"Night."


	15. A Bad Start Leads To A Bad Day

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (15) A Bad Start Leads To A Bad Day

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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"Hermione, Hermione!" a voice whispered as the sixteen year old girl opened her eyes.

"Wake up, it's six in the morning."

Nicholas Cliffmore stood above her, in nothing but his uniform pants, Hermione's eyes widened, and she screamed in shock. Nick immediately covered her mouth with one of his hands, and with the other, he waved his hand and placed what seemed like a silencing charm around them.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you 'Mione?" Nicholas asked.

Hermione stared into his emerald green eyes in confusion, until she remembered what had happened last night. Nicholas removed his hand from her face, and shook his head in disbelief.

He then headed towards his closet and pulled his uniform out.

"Come on _sleepyhead_, wake up already. You've got to get back to your dorm and get ready for classes." Nicholas said as he pulled his t-shirt on.

Hermione sat up, and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Then she looked around at her surroundings. It was then did she see something on Nick's table that looked very familiar. She got out of bed, and walked over to it. The closer she got to it, the more sure she was that it was indeed, what she thought it was.

When she got to his table, she opened it, and flipped through a few pages, before turning to Nick, and holding the object up.

"What are you doing with Harry's photo album?" she asked as Nick's face paled slightly.

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"I um... I..." Harry couldn't answer her, his mouth suddenly went dry, and his heart beat sped up.

"Where did you get it?" Hermione asked as Harry gulped slightly.

"He left it here."

That was the best thing he could come up with that the time, but he immediately regretted saying it because the expression that appeared onto Hermione's face looked like it could kill.

"What do you mean, he left it here?" she asked coldly.

"He um... he was staying here for a while... left a few of his things, said he would get it later." Harry improvised as Hermione's face softened for a moment before the cold and angry expression returned.

"You didn't even bother to tell me he was here?" she asked.

"No, I was only told to watch over you and make sure you're safe."

"Harry told _you_ to watch over _me_?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Unbelievable."

There was a moment of silence.

"You should probably go back to your dorm." Harry muttered as he grabbed his tie off his chair and began to put it on.

"Yeah. I'll see you in class."

"See ya," Harry mumbled as Hermione walked out of the room.

When he was 100% sure she was gone, he sank to the floor and sighed in relief.

'_That was close... really close_.' Harry thought to himself as he finished putting his tie on.

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It was as if a bad start to a day officially makes the day a bad day. Harry—or more likely, Nicholas, was cornered by Krista after History class, and she was demanding to know why he blew her off.

And as if it was doomed to happen, Harry returned to his dorm at lunch time only to find out that Charlie was leaving.

"My parents are in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. There was an attack and—well—yeah." Charlie mumbled as he continued to pack his stuff.

Harry, sad that he had to lose another one of his friends, could only sigh and say good-bye. Hermione on the other hand, was having a harder time then Harry was.

Word got around that she never returned the night before to her dorm, and when she did return, she was dressed in a t-shirt and sweat pants. Rumours seemed to spread fast, and the next thing she knew, everyone thought she had been sleeping around with half the guys on campus.

Hermione had gotten so fed up with Krista being her roommate, she actually ended up going to her homeroom teacher and requested for a room change.

"Please Mrs. Cahier! She's driving me crazy! Anywhere would be better then where I am now! Even if I'm stuck with one of the boys, I wouldn't care. I can barely get my work done with her blaring her music all day." Hermione cried out as her homeroom teacher finally cracked, and granted her request.

By dinner time, Hermione was ready to move into her new room. But she was most likely shocked to see who her new roommate was...

"_You?_"

Hermione looked horrified.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question!"

"I live here, if you've suddenly forgotten!"

"Oh. Sorry. I forgot." Hermione calmed down a bit after that.

"Need any help with that?"

Hermione looked up into the emerald green eyes of her new roommate: Nicholas Cliffmore, and shook her head.

"I can handle it." She muttered as she made an attempt to pick her suitcase up. But she failed.

"You've got too many books." Her roommate muttered as he waved his hand.

Using wandless magic, he managed to get the trunk into her new room, before leaving her to deal with the unpacking.

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**A/N:**_ Sorry for the short chappie... I'll update another after I've gotten about 10 reviews or so. So please review! Anyways, this chapter's dedicated to my friend Jeff, who's leaving for a trip at some island in the middle of no-where for two months... (Wish you the best, and I'll see you when you get back )_

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_To answer a few questions people have been wondering... Hermione was on the bed, Harry was in the sleeping bag on the floor._


	16. Back At Hogwarts

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (16) Back At Hogwarts

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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To say that Ronald Weasley missed his two best friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger a bit would be a great understatement. In fact, he didn't just miss them a bit, he miss them a lot! Sure, he had Luna, who was a wonderful girlfriend who listened to him ramble about Quidditch and stuff. But still, he missed his friends.

He was lucky enough to be able to pay Hermione a visit down at her new school, Scotland High, a few weeks ago, the day before her birthday, but ever since then, he hadn't seen her again.

On any normal day of the week, Ron would just miss his friends more then anything in the world. But today was different. Yes, it was different indeed. It was different because the moment he walked into the great hall, he knew something was wrong.

First off, Draco Malfoy walked up with him, his face was the paler then usual, and there was a smug look on his face, yet... Ron could still see a look of fear in his eyes. It confused him quite a lot. It wasn't until Malfoy spoke, did he realize why he had such a smug expression on his face.

"Check into the _mudblood_ lately? Heard there was an attack down at that filthy school of hers. Wonder if we were _fortunate_ enough to lose her in the battle."

Ron's wand was out so fast, no one had even seen his wrist movement to pull the magical item out. Even Dumbledore seemed to be shocked by his actions.

"If anything's happened to her, I'll kill you. I'll kill you with my bare hands." Ron growled as he glared at Malfoy dangerously.

"Mr Weasley, a word please," the headmaster's voice rang out through the quiet hall, and Ron turned to face him.

"Better send someone down to Scotland High, there was an attack..." he whispered under his breath, but everyone heard him nevertheless.

"I hope she blasted your father to hell, ferret." Ron hissed as he pocketed his wand, and turned to leave.

"Maybe it was the other way around Weasley," Malfoy suggested with a faint smirk, before he returned to his table to continue eating breakfast.

Ron followed Professor Dumbledore to his office, along with Ginny, Luna, and Neville, who decided to join him after he left the hall. When they arrived there, the headmaster conjured up a few more chairs, and asked them to all sit down.

"Mr Weasley, I need you to tell me exactly what Draco Malfoy said to you in the great hall mere moments ago."

"He asked if I've checked into Hermione lately, except he called her by that fowl name, and he told me that he had heard there had been an attack down there, and wondered if she was—dead." Ron's voice shook with fear when he finished his final words.

"I was informed about the battle late last night. I'm happy to say that Miss Granger was not harmed. Apparently another student wizard there helped defend her." Professor Dumbledore reassured.

"Was it—Nicholas Cliffmore?" Ginny asked curiously.

"As a matter of fact... it is. How did you know, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he asked her the question.

"He saved Hermione's life a few weeks ago. Jumped off a bridge a couple dozen feet high and saved her from drowning." Ginny answered.

"He jumped off a bridge to save her life? No resistance at all?"

The four students shook their heads.

"We were there you see—the day before Hermione's birthday. The 18th. We flew down there, and we saw it all happen. He just grabbed a piece of rope, took a bit of time to tie it up, took the end of it and jumped." Neville explained.

"I see. That is rather odd." Dumbledore smiled mysteriously.

"It was, he was under the water for nearly a minute, and he came back perfectly okay." Luna stated.

"Odd indeed." Dumbledore repeated.

"Professor—do you think Hermione's parents will allow he to come back to Hogwarts? Once they hear about the attack?" Ron asked hopingly.

"That, I do not know. I haven't the chance to pay them a visit yet. I assume Miss Granger isn't enjoying Scotland High?"

The four students nodded their head immediately, as if they were all robots.

"Hm... there is another one student who is coming here to stay from Scotland High, maybe you have heard of him from Colin or Dennis... His name is Charlie Creevey."

"We've heard of him alright. He's practically like his brothers. A bit mad to tell the truth." Ron muttered.

"Oh yes Professor, I've been meaning to ask, have you found any traces of Harry yet?" Ginny asked.

"No, not yet I'm afraid."

"Oh... well... Hermione sent me this interesting... letter a few weeks back. Right after her birthday... you see... Harry paid her a visit." Ginny whispered under her breath.

"What?" Ron exploded in shock.

"Excuse me? Miss Weasley, can you repeat what you just said?" Dumbledore asked.

"Harry paid Hermione a visit on her birthday."

"And you never told us this earlier?" Ron asked angrily.

"She told me not to! Harry didn't want you to know." Ginny muttered.

"Why is it Mr Potter didn't want us to know Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked.

"She said it was about the prophecy. He knew what it was. And he doesn't want to lose anymore of his friends and family members. He didn't want to be treated like a child anymore." Ginny whispered.

"Is that the reason he left?" Neville asked.

"I don't know. Hermione didn't tell me anything about that. But—I think—Harry doesn't plan to come back... not any time soon anyways." Ginny mumbled.

"What do you mean? Not anytime soon?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Ron, don't you get it? He's scared Voldemort might attack you next, because you two are such close friends." Luna said in a serious tone.

"But—he knows the prophecy?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"But it was shattered! You were there!" Ron said as he pointed at Neville, who nodded.

The four students turned back to Dumbledore, who had a worried expression on his face.

"I'm afraid I can't hide it from you any longer. You see, Harry's the only one who can kill Voldemort."

Thumps could be heard as a few students fainted from shock.

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**A/N:**_ In one of the reviews, someone asked me wouldn't anyone notice the hole in the wall Harry made when he removed the window... the answer is... no... if you go back and read very closely, you will see that he fixed the window, and then placed the wards up so no one could enter..._

_**This chapter was dedicated to four of my best and closest friends:**_

_**Gracie-**The last two years of band were great and halarious, kinda wish I was at the Edmonton trip... keep in touch, and try not to forget me... _

_**Cam-**The hundreds and hundreds of MSN games we've played online will never be forgotten! You've been a great friend, and good luck on the British Columbia Provincial Violin competition..._

_**Eve-**Thanks for all the smiles... you've no idea how much you've helped me in the last few months... and you're probably one of the reasons I'm still here and not six feet under... You gave me the perfect advice when I needed it the most ("You always think you'll do bad in everything... but then you do better then you would have expected... you shouldn't expect the worse in yourself... have some faith)... thanks a million..._

_**S.S-**I regret not talking to you in the last ten months... now I'll never have the chance to say good-bye... best of luck in New York City... The last four years were the best years of my life... thank you for all the memories..._


	17. Stargazing

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (17) Stargazing

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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**From this chapter on, Harry will be referred as Nicholas, at least, until the chapter where he's revealed... which is somewhere in the thirties **

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"I'm telling you, you're not supposed to mix those two things! It'll explode!" Hermione hissed as her partner ignored her, and continued to mix liquid after liquid.

Chemistry class that afternoon seemed to be hell for Hermione. Not only was she stuck with another crazy partner who didn't listen to a word she said, but her ex-roommate had spread so many rumours around so quickly, things seemed to get worse.

It wasn't until she had finally given up on trying to take control of the lab project she and her so called partner was working on, had she realized Nicholas had been standing behind her the whole time trying to get her attention.

"I talked to our professor. You're my partner for the rest of the semester." Nicholas said as a grin appeared onto Hermione's face.

"Really?"

Nicholas nodded.

"Charlie left, so I've got no partner. Professor Sever told me that you've been complaining about your partner for the last two months or so. He decided to change things around a bit." Nicholas explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this lab done!" Hermione said as she grabbed her belongings, and moved them to Nicholas' table.

Nick could only smile slightly, happy to know that he could help her in the slightest way...

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The rest of the day for Hermione, was boring. Nick was more then kind enough to be her partner in pretty much all her other classes, and she no longer had to be stuck with idiotic preps that hated her as much as she hated them.

It wasn't until she had finally finished all her homework at nearly two that night, did she take a chance to look out the window and stare up at the sky in relief. It was then did she notice that someone was still up, not awake up, but up-up. Up a few dozen feet up.

She squinted to see who it was, but could only make out that the person up there, was holding something that looked a lot like a broom, and was wearing Wizarding robes. Frowning slightly, she decided to see who it was. Curiosity got the best of her.

After getting properly dressed (it was rather cold out), she crawled out through her window, and began to run towards the tree the 'person' was at. When she reached there, she had a bit of trouble deciding what she would do next.

She could either call the person, to get their attention, but might get in trouble for sneaking out during the night. Or, she could climb up the tree to see who it was. With a small sigh, she decided to climb the tree.

After a good ten or fifteen minutes, she finally reached the high branch the person in robes sat. She was in a way, shocked to see who it was.

"Nick?" she whispered.

Nick nodded slightly, as if to acknowledge her.

"What are you doing up here?" she continued to ask.

"Stargazing." Nicholas answered.

"Is that—a broom?"

Nick nodded, and held it up so she could see it.

"A Firebolt!"

Nick nodded again.

"Where'd you get it?" Hermione asked.

"Harry gave it to me." Nick answered.

"Harry _gave_ that to you?"

Hermione sounded shocked.

"Yea, now would you shut up already. I came up here to get away from the noise and relax. Not to be questioned." Nick muttered as he sighed slightly.

Hermione inched herself closer to him, slowly, bit by bit, scared that the large branch the two of them were seated on would snap any moment.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Nick asked after what seemed like forever.

Hermione looked upwards, to see a wonderful view.

"Yeah. It is." Hermione whispered.

"So, what are you doing up here?" Nicholas asked.

"I was curious... didn't know who was up here." Hermione muttered under her breath.

Nick smiled slightly.

"It's getting late, I'm going back. Are you going to come with me on my broom or climb back down?"

Hermione looked down, and a look of fear appeared onto her face.

"You know, I think finishing school on a tree would be great, don't you think? Do we have to get off?" she asked in a quivering tone.

Nick gave her a look that clearly said yes, and she sighed.

"But—I'm scared of heights." Hermione whispered.

"I'll be careful—you won't fall. You can sit in front of me on the broom. It'll only be a few seconds. Maybe more if you actually like it—"

"No way. I would never like flying a broom. It's too scary!" Hermione hissed.

"Give me a break Hermione. And you call yourself a Gryffindor? You should've been in Ravenclaw." Nicholas teased as Hermione glared at him angrily.

"The muggles will see." Hermione said smugly as she finally thought of an excuse.

"You really should read more about brooms. The Firebolt has been specially charmed so only wizards or witches can see the rider and the broom. Muggles can't see a thing."

Hermione's face fell in disappointment.

"Fine." She muttered at last, surrendering.

Nick stood up, and mounted his broom.

"Come on, get on. In front of me." He said as Hermione nodded, and did as she was told.

Nick controlled the broom slowly, but instead of bring them down, he brought them higher.

"Nick what are you doing?" Hermione said in shock as she shut her eyes in fear.

After a few seconds, Nick stopped flying any higher.

"Open your eyes." He whispered.

Hermione shook her head.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"Do you trust Harry?"

Slowly, Hermione nodded her head.

"Then trust me." Nick whispered as Hermione finally opened her eyes. A gasp could be heard as she look at her surroundings. Only one word could describe it: _Wow._

**Replies to a few questions:**

**werepanda-** _Harry's gone missing for over four months, the order has gone mad with worry... people will start wondering why everyone's so freaked out about one little wizard... he's obviously got to tell them the truth... no one wants a re-play of what had happened to harry in the last book..._

**gaul1**-_she won't know_

**atruwriter**-_ I myself am still trying to decide if Draco should be good or not... and about the romance? Isn't stargazing kind of romantic?_ **This chapter is dedicated to all those I've known from Yale... whether we were friends or not, who cares!**


	18. A Flight To Remember

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (18) A Flight To Remember

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Nick asked as he hovered above the clouds up in the sky.

Hermione didn't respond, and continue to stare at the amazing scene that was in front of her in shock.

"Wow," she whispered.

"Yeah, I know." Nick grinned slightly.

They hovered for a few seconds in silence, before Nicholas realized the position they were in. He had his arms wrapped around Hermione, so she wouldn't fall off, but if any other wizard or witch can flying by, they would probably assume the two of them were off on a romantic flight in the middle of the night.

The mere thought of that made him blush slightly. He tried to take his mind off the topic, and think about something else, but in the end, he was listing off a list of things he would be willing to give up just to spend the rest of the night with her in his arm.

_'I'm going crazy! I must be going crazy!'_ Nick thought to himself as he felt his heart rate speed up.

_'Actually, I think you've just realized you have a crush on your best friend.'_ The voice that often helped Nick out in his studies stated as Nick's face turned even more red.

_'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!'_ Nick thought as he began to take in deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"Nick, are you alright?" Hermione asked as she suddenly turned around to see him.

"Um... yeah," he managed to choke as he felt himself turn redder and redder by the second.

"Are you sure? Your face is all red... you're not catching a cold, are you?" Hermione asked in concern as he shook his head and gulped.

"No. Not at all." Nick mumbled as he continued to take deep breaths.

"Are you afraid of heights or something?" Hermione asked.

Nick shook his head.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Say, is that Polaris?" Nick asked, wanting to change the subject as he raised one of his hands to point upwards.

Hermione looked up, and squinted for a moment.

"Yes. I think so. The big and little dipper are near it, so I'm pretty sure that's it."

Nick nodded slightly.

"You know how Polaris leads you straight to north right?" Hermione asked.

"Well... it's not called the North Star for no reason, 'Mione." Nick smiled slightly.

"Do you ever wonder if it'll lead you to someone you miss? Someone that's really close to you?" Hermione continued to question.

Nick shrugged.

"I don't think I have. Why? You're looking for someone?"

Hermione nodded.

"Harry," she whispered.

"Potter?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. He was my best friend back at Hogwarts. But then, you probably already know, don't you? He's told you already, hasn't he?"

Nick stayed silent.

"How did you meet him anyways? He's never mentioned you in the past," asked Hermione curiously.

"We um... well... we trained together." Nick answered awkwardly.

"Trained?"

"Yeah... we were training... magically, mentally, and physically." Nick explained.

"I know you can train magically and physically, but how do you train mentally?"

"Harry needed to prevent Voldemort from going through his head again..." Nick muttered as he heard Hermione sigh.

"You miss him, don't you?" Nick questioned.

"Yeah. More then anything in the world. I miss Hogwarts, I miss my friends... heck, I even miss Snape... but I miss Harry more then I miss all of those things combined." Hermione muttered.

"Oh?" Nick asked in a soft whisper.

"Yeah." Hermione sighed.

"'Mione... do you like Harry?" Nick asked suddenly.

"What? No. Of course not. We're just friends." Hermione answer quickly... a bit too quickly.

"Oh." Nick mumbled under his breath.

"Why do you ask?"

"Um... no reason."

There was a moment of silence before Nick spoke again.

"Hermione... do you think... you and I... we could um... um..."

"Um what?" Hermione asked.

"Go out on a date sometime?" Nick finished as he felt his face burn up.

"We're out on a midnight flight on your broom and we're also stargazing, you don't call this a date?" Hermione countered as Nick felt his face turn even redder.

"Technically, we're just floating." Nick corrected, not knowing what else to say.

There was another moment of silence before Hermione laughed.

"You're so easily rattled... I bet your face is redder then Ron's hair at this moment." Hermione teased as she turned to look at him.

Nick could only look away in embarrassment.

"You look so cute right now." Hermione laughed before she kissed him on his cheek.

Nick felt as if he was about to fall off the broom... his heart was pounding faster, and faster each passing second...

_'Stay calm, just stay calm. You've got to do something right? She just kissed you! Say something!'_ Harry thought to himself as he took a deep breath.

Hermione smiled at his reaction, and the twinkle Nick saw in her eyes told him that she was enjoying this.

"Well... you look rather beautiful yourself, if I don't say so myself." Nick whispered as Hermione began to blush.

Nick laughed under his breath, before changing the subject.

"It's getting late. We'd better go back."

Hermione could only nod. When they arrived there, Harry stopped the broom right outside Hermione's window. She climbed in, and he floated there to make one last comment before returning to his dorm.

"Sweets dreams, 'Mione."

He kissed her on the forehead, before turning his broom, and flying towards his window.

**A/N: **_Is it too fluffy? And I think I'll have a vote about Draco... whether you want him to be evil or nice or um... an spy like Snape but is evil and cruel nevertheless... anyways, REVIEW!_

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**P.S. Nick and Hermione live in the same dorm, but as mentioned earlier in the first few chapters by their Principle Mr. Fudge, they live in a mini-apartment. Sure, they share a bathroom, but they have their own rooms. Hermione's window is around the corner of Nick's, meaning, he's got to fly around the corner to get to his dorm. Just to clear up a few questions...**


	19. Persuasion

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (19) Persuasion

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Footsteps could be heard as Dumbledore pressed the doorbell. A moment later, the door was opened, and David Granger stood there, staring at him in shock.

"You! Stay away from us!" he said as he closed the door.

Dumbledore rang the door bell again. The door was pulled open in one swift action.

"What do you want?" David asked angrily.

"Your daughter is in danger at Scotland High." Dumbledore spoke calmly.

A look of fear appeared onto David Granger's face, and he stepped aside immediately to welcome Dumbledore inside their home.

"Please, come in, we can talk inside." David whispered as Dumbledore nodded, and entered.

David led the headmaster into the living room, where Evelyn Granger was, having tea and reading a book.

"Dumbledore?" Evelyn asked in confusion as the headmaster sat down across from her, and her husband sat down beside her.

"Explain why Hermione's in danger at Scotland High." David insisted.

"You know very well that your daughter is friends with Harry Potter, aren't you?" Dumbledore asked.

The Granger parents nodded.

"A few months ago, Mr Potter went missing in action. No one has been able to find him. Voldemort thought that Miss Granger knew where he was, so he attacked Scotland High during a Halloween party." Dumbledore continued, as the expressions on David and Evelyn paled.

"She's alright, isn't she?" Evelyn asked in barely a whisper.

"Yes, for now. If we don't move her location back to Hogwarts, the next time the death eaters attack, she might not be as lucky. A young teenage wizard who was also at Scotland was fortunate enough to have noticed the death eaters and led her to safety." Dumbledore answered.

"What is the name of this young man?" David requested to know.

"Nicholas Cliffmore... from what I heard, it wasn't the first time he saved your daughter."

David and Evelyn looked at each other in concern for a moment before turning back to Dumbledore.

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"From the letters your daughter has been sending to a few of the students back at Hogwarts, she has mentioned that she has barely any friends at Scotland High, and that it seems every student there has a dislike towards her. She was pushed off a bridge during their first bungee-jumping lesson." Dumbledore said as Evelyn and David both turned paler then they already were.

"She was pushed off a bridge?" Evelyn whispered in shock.

"Around a hundred feet high into the lake below... young Cliffmore jumped in after her." Dumbledore stated.

"She's alright, isn't she?" David asked as Dumbledore nodded.

"But as I said earlier Mr Granger, if we don't re-locate her to Hogwarts soon, anything could happen."

Evelyn and David looked at each other once again, this time, a look of both fear and concern could be seen on their pale expressions.

"If this was happening... why didn't she tell us... we thought she was happy at Scotland High..." Evelyn Granger whispered as she held a sob.

"Maybe she's scared you might make her leave again. After so long, she's finally managed to make another friend again." Dumbledore guessed as Evelyn began to cry openly.

David placed his arm around her, and gave her a warm hug.

"Dumbledore—do you think... do you think Hermione can return to Hogwarts?" David asked, as Dumbledore smiled to himself, his goal achieved...

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"Congratulations, you've finally succeeded in creating a wand." Kazu said as Nick grinned happily.

"I had no choice, we might've died if I hadn't." Nick stated.

"All the same, I must congratulate you. Although I would suggest you don't carry the wand with you like that. You took out a lot of magic out of yourself to make it, and it would be best if you took it back." Kazu suggested as Nick frowned slightly.

"Why? Wouldn't it be easier to carry a wand around?"

Kazu shook his head.

"Your wand is white, unlike the other wands witches and wizards have. It's made from magic—pure magic. Therefore it's as white as snow. If any dark wizards or witches saw it, they would try to steal it, and would be willing to do anything to get their hands on it. If they do, it'll cause the wand to go dark."

"But you said only the creator and those who have permission can use it!" Nick cried out in confusion.

"The imperum curse." Kazu explained as Nick sighed.

"How do I absorb it?" Harry asked.

"Same way you created it. Except you take it all back, instead of taking it out." Kazu instructed.

Nick took his wand out, and held it in the middle of his right palm. He closed his eyes once again, and the magical feeling he felt when he was creating the wand came back. A few seconds later, he felt powerful magic flow through him, and the wand was gone.

"I feel—more powerful." Nick gasped after he opened his eyes.

"I suspected so. Your wandless magic abilities has probably increased." Kazu said as Nick grinned.

"Really?"

Kazu nodded.

"I've got to get back to the ministry now, but I suggest that you practice your wandless magic, and get your usual training. We can't have you getting out of shape now, can we?" Kazu asked as Nick shook his head.

"I'll see you around then." Nick said as Kazu nodded, then disappeared.

"Time to practice blinking..." Nick smirked as he disappeared in a blink of an eye, and reappeared a few feet away.


	20. Ah! Young Love!

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (20) Ah! Young Love!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Nick sighed as he entered his bedroom, and couldn't help but let a smile raise to his face. He placed his Firebolt into his closet, before falling backwards onto his comfy bed. For some reason, his heart rate wouldn't slow down, and he felt this warm feeling inside him.

"Kazu? You there?" Nick asked as a small pop was heard, and a wizard dressed in green emerald robes appeared.

"Do you ever sleep?" Nick asked when he saw Kazu's clothes.

"Once in a while. But that's not the problem here is it? Why'd you call me?" Kazu asked, getting straight to the point.

"I um... don't know." Nick sighed as he sat up on his bed.

"What?" Kazu asked in disbelief.

"Well... I... um... Hermione and I just went for a ride on my Firebolt and um... for some reason... I um... have this warm feeling inside me... and my heart rate won't drop." Nick muttered as Kazu smiled.

"Ah... I know what's going on now." Kazu said in a teasing tone as Nick got to his feet.

"What's going on then? Tell me? Do I have a disease or something? Am I going to die?" Nick asked.

Kazu could only laugh now.

"No! You're not dying! You don't have a disease either!" Kazu explained when he finally stopped laughing.

"Then what's going on?" Nick questioned.

"You're in love!" Kazu blurted out as a look of confusion, shock, and realization appeared onto his face.

"That's impossible!" Nick finally yelled as Kazu started laughing again.

"How is that possible? She's—she's my best friend!" Nick countered but Kazu waved his hand at him, as if saying that wasn't a good enough excuse.

"You know what they say, the best of friends make the best of lovers."

Nick had a look of fear on his face now.

"But—she—but—Merlin's beard!" Nick mumbled as he fell back onto his bed.

"If you weren't in love with her, why did you ask her out?" Kazu asked as Nick jumped to his feet away.

"You were spying on us?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"Well, yes, in a way." Kazu started to explain as Nick began pacing.

"I'm going mental. Seriously mental. Why can't anyone give me a straight bloody answer?"

"Nick, calm down! Remember the training we did over summer... breath in and out... meditate!"

Nick did as he was told...

"It's not working!" he yelled a few seconds later.

"Go fly then!" Kazu said as he waved his hand, Nick's Firebolt zoomed out of his closet, and into Kazu's hands.

Kazu threw the broom towards Harry, who caught it eagerly, mounted his broom, and flew out of his room after he got the window open.

Kazu could only sigh and chuckle to himself now.

"Ah... young love."

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Hermione Granger couldn't help but think about Nick when she returned to her dorm. He reminded her of someone so much, but she couldn't place her finger on who.

"Maybe... could it be?" Hermione asked herself in barely a whisper before she shook her head.

"Impossible. It can't be Harry. There's too much of a difference."

Hermione sighed as she shut her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

_'I wonder what he meant... by training... I know he explained it as mentally, physically, and magically... but why is he training?'_ Hermione thought to herself.

_'The battle... with Voldemort.'_ Hermione finally realized.

"I need to write to Ginny," Hermione Granger decided as she got up from her bed, and ran to her table.

She pulled out a blank lined sheet of paper, and a pen, before she began to write...

_To Ginny,_

_              How's life back at Hogwarts? Hope Ron's doing okay without me there. I've just been wondering, has Dumbledore mentioned anything about Harry lately? Oh yes, by the way, I forgot to tell you this earlier, there was an attack on Halloween night and..._

Hermione stopped writing, and crumpled the sheet of paper up before throwing it away.

"What am I? Crazy?" Hermione asked herself as she pulled another sheet of paper out and began to write.

_Ginny,_

_            Sorry I didn't write to you earlier, but there was an attack at Scotland High on Halloween night, and I've gotten a lot more homework then usual so I've been really busy. Has Dumbledore mentioned anything about Harry yet? _

_            Speaking of Harry, remember Nick? The guy who saved me from drowning? He knows Harry apparently. He says they spent the summer training. I think Harry's getting ready for the war with Voldemort._

_            I haven't seen Harry since my birthday, but I swear, Nick and Harry must be related or something! Think you can search the library and check if there were any students that attended with the last names Cliffmore? _

_            Anyways, just thought I'd write to you. Going a bit crazy here... Nick asked me out on a date a few minutes ago and I think I might have accidentally turned him down... what am I supposed to do? I haven't actually 'liked-liked' anyone since the Tri-Wizard Cup was held at Hogwarts!_

_            Please don't mention anything to Ron, I'd hate to see his reaction. Write back soon, and say hi to everyone for me._

_                                    From, your friend, Hermione_

Hermione folded up the paper, and stuffed it into an envelope and marked the letter with Ginny's name before handing it to Hedwig, who was rather eager to fly about.

As they white snowy owl flew out of the window, Hermione began to wonder to herself if she should go on a date with Nick.


	21. Love Is In The Air

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (21) Love Is In The Air

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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When the letters came swooping in during breakfast at the Great Hall, Ginny wasn't expecting a letter from anyone. But when Hedwig came flying down and dropping a letter in her pile of pancakes, she was more then delighted to see her.

"Ah... there's syrup all over it!" Ginny groaned as she waved her wand and removed the sticky liquid from the envelope.

"Is it from Hermione?" Ron asked curiously as Ginny opened the letter and skimmed through it.

At first, there was a worried expression on her face, but then, the worried expression turned grim, and at last, a smirk appeared onto Ginny's face.

"What? What did she write? Come on Ginny! Tell me!" Ron said as he tried to grab the letter out of Ginny's hands.

"Uhuh! No way! Hermione said I couldn't tell you!" Ginny said as Ron glared at her.

"_Accio letter!"_ Ron yelled as the letter Hermione had sent to Ginny flew into his hands.

"Ron!" Ginny groaned as she tried to get the letter back.

"Attack at Scotland High... blablabla... guy who saved her from drowning... war with _Voldemort_?" Ron exploded in shock.

Silence fell upon the Great Hall as every head turned towards Ron, who continued to read, and Ginny, who tried to get the letter back.

"Ron! Give it back!"

"Nick and Harry related? Tri-Wizard Cup? What the bloody hell? Don't mention it to me? What did she mean by that?" Ron asked as Ginny grabbed the letter back.

"You stupid prat!" Ginny hissed as she smacked him across the head.

"Mr Weasley, Miss Weasley, do you two care to explain to us what's so important in that letter?" Snape asked as the two Weasley kids turned towards their Potions master.

"No." Ginny said immediately.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your racket, Mr and Miss Weasley, and I suggest getting back to your breakfast—"

"Not so fast Minerva. I think everyone here deserves to know what's in that letter." Snape spoke up.

"Now Severus, I think that's a bit private—" Professor McGonagall tried to state, but it was too late, Snape had already summoned the letter from Ginny, and was reading it out loud.

"_Ginny, sorry I didn't write to you earlier, but there was an attack at Scotland High on Halloween night, and I've gotten a lot more homework then usual so I've been really busy. Has Dumbledore mentioned anything about Harry yet?_" Snape looked over at Dumbledore for a mere second before continuing.

"_Speaking of Harry, remember Nick? The guy who saved me from drowning? He knows Harry apparently. He says they spent the summer training. I think Harry's getting ready for the war with... You-Know-Who." _Snape paused for a moment and looked up at Ginny, who was glaring at him.

"Severus, I think that is enough." Albus spoke up, but Snape wouldn't hear of it.

"_I haven't seen Harry since my birthday, but I swear, Nick and Harry must be related or something! Think you can search the library and check if there were any students that attended with the last names Cliffmore?"_ A look of shock appeared onto Snape's face.

"Cliffmore?" he repeated as he turned to Albus Dumbledore, who looked rather angry now.

"Severus, I suggest that you return that letter to Miss Weasley before—"

"_Dissovio_!" Ginny yelled as the letter in Professor Snape's hands caught on fire.

Snape dropped the letter immediately, and everyone in the hall watched as it turned into ashes.

"Damn you Snape." Ginny hissed as she got up from her seat, and turned to leave.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor and a week's worth of detention Weasley." Snape said as Ginny ignored him.

"Twenty points to Gryffindor for keeping the rest of Miss Granger's letter private and unknown to the rest of the school Miss Weasley, and you can spend the week's worth of detention with me." Professor McGonagall said as she turned to glare at Snape, who could only look back in shock.

It seemed as though the rest of the school was in shock too, for Professor McGonagall never favoured her own house. There was a moment of silence before whispering and muttering began, and everyone returned to their breakfast asking questions and more.

Neville Longbottom got up from his seat at the table, and left the Great Hall in search of Ginny. Ron was about to leave his seat too, when Luna stopped him.

"Let them be." Luna said as a look of confusion appeared onto his face, then realization sank in.

"If he hurts her, he'll have to deal with me." Ron muttered as Luna smiled at his reactions.

Meanwhile, Neville had found Ginny out in the Quidditch field, crying her head off.

"Ginny? You alright?" Neville asked as he approached her slowly.

"Hermione's going to kill me!" Ginny whispered as more tears slid down her face.

"I should've destroyed that letter the moment I was finished reading it, instead of letting Snape and Ron read it!"

More tears formed in her eyes, and more streamed down her face as Neville sat down beside her in the benches.

"It's alright... I'm sure she'd understand." Neville stated as Ginny shook her head.

"She probably hates me."

"Come on Ginny, she doesn't even know that Snape read the letter out loud. You can write her back, and explain the situation, I'm sure she'd understand." Neville said as he placed his hand onto Ginny's shoulder in hopes of comforting her.

"Look, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up this week, how about you and I go there together? You look like you could have some fun. The O.W.L.'s are one of the worst years. Especially Potions..." Neville muttered as a grim expression came onto his face.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Ginny asked as she wiped the tears out of her eyes.

Neville's face turned red as he began to mumbled.

"Well... um... if you don't want to, I'd understand why, I mean... I..."

"Neville, I'd love to." Ginny cut in as Neville sighed in relief.

"Really?" Neville looked like Christmas had come early.

Ginny nodded.

"Maybe we can buy some new robes while we're there too... Dumbledore said there was going to be a Christmas ball..." Ginny muttered as a smile appeared onto Neville's face.

"That'd be great!"

There was a moment of silence while the two Gryffindors just sat there smiling.

"Thanks for cheering me up Neville. We should probably go in and finish eating breakfast before Ron eats it all. Thanks." Ginny said as she gave him a peck on his cheek, causing his face to turn red.

"See ya inside." Ginny smiled as she got up, and walked away, leaving a blushing Neville Longbottom behind sitting there as if he was petrified.

A/N: I just love matchmaking.... lol!


	22. Visit At Scotland High

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (22) Visit At Scotland High

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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David and Evelyn Granger could only sigh as they got out of their car and headed towards the office of Scotland High Private School.

"Excuse me; we'd like to see Hermione Granger." David said to the secretary as the woman typed a few buttons into her computer.

"I see, and you are?" the woman asked.

"David and Evelyn Granger. We're Hermione's parents." Mr Granger explained.

"Can I see some sort of ID?"

"Dear lord, is it always this complicated to visit your own child?" David asked as he pulled his wallet out, and Evelyn looked through her purse.

"During school hours, yes." The secretary muttered.

"Here you go." Evelyn said as she showed the lady her driver's licence.

Mr Granger did the same.

"Okay. She's in room D300, her roommate is Nicholas Cliffmore in case you're wondering." The secretary stated as the two parents said thank you, and walked away.

"She's rooming with Nicholas Cliffmore?" Evelyn asked as they walked down the hall.

"Didn't Dumbledore say he saved her life?"

David could only nod, then point up ahead.

"Isn't that Hermione?" he asked out loud as he looked at his wife.

They took a closer look, and up ahead, was Hermione Granger, holding a pile of books, walking with a boy with raven coloured hair who was also holding a pile of books, except a lot more.

"Really Nick, you didn't have to help me carry the books." Evelyn and David Granger heard their daughter say as they walked closer.

"Yes, and what would Harry say if he found out you ended up in the hospital wing with a broken leg because you injured yourself while carrying these books back to your room?" Nick asked.

"How would I know? I haven't seen him since my birthday!" Hermione snapped.

"I for one know what he would say, 'Nick, how could you let that happen to Hermione? You're going to regret not learning how to dodge fireballs properly...' really 'Mione, he would probably place _me_ in the hospital." Nick joked as Hermione shook her head at him.

"Harry wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"How do you know? He's supposed to destroy the evillest wizard of all kind... how would he fulfill the prophecy if he's a wimp?" Nick asked.

"Harry isn't a wimp! Open the door will you, my hands are full." Hermione muttered as they reached their dorm.

"Yours hands are full? Give me a break! _Alohamora_!" Nick muttered as the door clicked open, and they stepped in.

"You've got to teach me some of that wandless magic one of these days." They heard Hermione whisper under her breath.

"Hermione dear, you need any help with that?" David Granger finally spoke up when he noticed his daughter was about to drop some of her books.

"Dad?" Hermione said in shock as she turned around to see her parents standing there.

She really did drop her books this time. Her bag, and all the books she had been holding, fell right on top of Nick's left foot. Not noticing the wince and flinch come from her room-mate, she rushed forward to hug her parents.

"Mum! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked as Nick began whimpering quietly to himself.

"We decided to visit you! Say, this must be Nicholas! Dumbledore told us so much about you." David said as he stepped forward to shake Nick's hand.

"I'd shake your hand, but my hands are a bit full. I'd put the books away, and then shake your hand, but I think my left foot is broken." Nick grimaced as he managed to pull his foot out of the large pile of books.

"Excuse me." Nick said as he dropped the books onto the ground and snapped his fingers.

The large pile of books immediately floated up into the air, and one by one, headed towards Hermione's room.

"How did you—without a wand?" David gasped in shock.

"Wandless magic." Nick explained as he turned to Hermione.

"Watch where you drop those books next time will you?" he asked as Hermione looked at him in an expression that clearly said 'I'm sorry'.

"Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, Nicholas Cliffmore sir. Nice to meet you." Nick said as he held his hand out to shake David Granger's.

"David Granger, pleasure to finally meet you young man! Dumbledore told me about your rescue! Diving off a bridge to save Hermione! Quite brave aren't you?" David asked as Nick's face began to turn red.

"It was nothing." He muttered under his breath.

"Hermione, you haven't shown us your room yet!" Evelyn spoke up, changing the subject.

"Yes, your room. Show us your room won't you? We need to talk to you about something as well... it's about Hogwarts." David stated as Hermione opened the door to her room, and ushered her parents in.

"I'll talk to you later Nick." Hermione smiled faintly as Nick nodded.

"You've kept your room rather neat." Evelyn commented as she sat down onto Hermione's bed.

"It's easier to figure out what's where." Hermione explained as she sat down beside her mom.

Her father sat down onto the chair next to her desk, and turned so they were all facing each other.

"Hermione dear... Dumbledore paid us a visit yesterday... and well... he mentioned the attack that happened on Halloween." David began as Hermione sighed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that."

"What about the bridge incident? You just forgot too?" Evelyn asked as Hermione closed her eyes.

"I—I didn't want you to know." Hermione whispered.

"Hermione, we care about you. If we had known about this earlier—you probably would be at Hogwarts right now." Hermione's father stated as she looked up at him.

"What—what are you trying to say?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Hermione dear... we wish to put you back in Hogwarts... where it's safe." Evelyn explained as a look of shock appeared onto Hermione's face, and she fainted.

Outside the door, Nicholas Cliffmore stood petrified in his spot as the wheels inside his head worked into overtime.

"What do I do now?" he asked himself in barely a whisper as he took a step back, and began to shake in fear.

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A/N: Ah... Harry/Nick fell has crush on Hermione... what to do? What to do? Oh yeah, I looked through the votes... Draco is for sure evil! P.S. this is the last chapter I'll update for the next two weeks or so unless I get my hands onto a computer with internet access, or there's loads of reviews for this chapter. And a little detail about the next chapter that might encourage you to review... Harry and Hermione end up having a romantic dance, and a heck of a sad good-bye... will he tell her how he feels? Review and you'll find out!


	23. Leaving Scotland High

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (23) Leaving Scotland High

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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"Hermione! Hermione dear!" David Granger said as he and his wife tried to wake their only daughter up.

"Wake up Hermione!" Evelyn whispered as she slapped her daughter's cheek lightly.

A little moan escape Hermione as her eyes fluttered open.

"Where am I? Mum? Dad? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked as she sat up.

"Sweetie, you fainted." Evelyn said as Hermione suddenly remember their conversation.

"Am I really going back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, wanting to make sure she heard right.

"Of course Hermione! You were nearly killed out here with no protect. If it wasn't for that young gentleman Cliffmore, I don't even want to know what happened. Is he your boyfriend?" David Granger asked.

"Dad!" Hermione hissed as her face turned red.

Outside the room, Nick's cheeks also turned red with awkwardness.

"We're just _friend_!" Hermione stated, and for some reason, the thought of being friends with Hermione brought pain to Nick's heart.

"I'm going mad." Nick whispered as he turned and went into his own room, not wanting to hear anymore of Hermione's conversation... but he couldn't help but hear ever word they said.

"Listen Hermione, if he is your boyfriend, your father and I are perfectly okay with that. He seems like a perfectly fine gentleman!" Evelyn Granger spoke up as Nick heard Hermione groan in disbelief.

"Mum, were just friends, we're _not_ getting married next week or something!" Hermione snapped.

"Goodness gracious, of course not! Maybe in a few years but definitely not next week—"

"Mum, can we _please_ get back to the original subject? When can I leave for Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, and by the tone of her voice, Nick knew she desperately wanted to change the subject.

"Well, right now if you want. We talked to your principal already. Mr. Fudge. Apparently he's quite familiar with the Wizarding world. Something about his cousin being the minister. Anyways, he's perfectly okay with you leaving." David explained.

"Really? I can leave now?" Hermione asked in awe.

Back at Nick's room, the young sixteen year old wizard fell backwards onto his bed and shut his eyes before sighing.

"What the hell do I do now?" he asked out loud.

"You really shouldn't curse, you know." Kazu's voice rang through his room as Nick jumped to his feet.

"Kazu?" Nick whispered in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked.

"Thought I'd pay you a visit." Kazu answered.

"A visit? For no particular reason?" Nick continued to ask.

"Suspicious aren't you?" Kazu grinned.

"In a way." Nick said before he sighed.

"Confused?"

Nick nodded.

"What should I do?"

"Do you love her?" Kazu asked suddenly as Nick looked away.

"I don't know. She's always been my best friend... one way or another... if she finds out who I am... our friendship could be ruined... forever. Beyond repair." Nick whispered.

"You shouldn't analize so you." Kazu said as Nick shrugged.

"I'm confused... I don't know how to feel... one moment, I feel like... like..."

"Telling her who you really are?" Kazu asked.

"No. One moment I feel like running away, far away. So she would never find out what's going on. But the next, I feel like... staying by her side forever. To make sure she's safe from Voldemort." Nick explained.

"Ah... you are in love with her." Kazu muttered as he walked over to Nick's seat, and sat down.

"How can you be so sure about that? I mean... shouldn't I be able to tell for myself?" Nick questioned.

"It's in your eyes. Whenever she enters the same room as you, your eyes, they lit up... and everytime you walk into class, you look around to see if she's arrived yet. If she hasn't, you look like your dog just died... no pun intended." Kazu added when Nick's head snapped up and a look of anger appeared onto the sixteen year old's face.

"That doesn't prove anything except you've been spying on me." Nick mumbled as Kazu shook his head.

"It proves a lot Potter." Kazu said, taking a chance and calling Nick by his real last name.

"What does it prove then?" Nick asked, as he looked up at the older wizard.

"It proves that Harry James Potter is in love with Hermione Granger." Kazu stated, as Nick sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"If that's the truth... then what the hell do I do now?" Nick asked out loud as a knock was heard at the door.

"Come on." Nick said as Kazu disappeared with a pop.

The door was opened, and Hermione walked in.

"Hey Nick." Hermione said with a wide smile on her face.

"Going back to Hogwarts?" Nick asked as a look of confusion appeared onto the young witch's face.

"Thin walls." Nick explained.

"Oh. Oh... you're not mad are you?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Why would I be mad?" Nick asked back.

"Well... I'm leaving right now... we um... might never have a chance to see each other again." Hermione said awkwardly.

"You never know." Nick smiled faintly as he sat back down onto his bed.

"Where are you parents?" Nick asked, after a moment of silence.

"They're packing my stuff up." Hermione said as she closed the door, and walked over to Nick's bed, before sitting down next to him.

"Say hi to Ron for me when you see him." Nick smiled as Hermione nodded.

There was another moment of silence before Hermione spoke up.

"I'm sorry we never had the chance to go on that date."

Nick shrugged.

"Like you said, midnight broom ride and stargazing... doesn't that count as a date?"

"Well... I don't know." Hermione said as she pulled her wand out.

"Whispict." Hermione whispered as soft, slow music was heard from all around them, and the lights above dimmed.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked as Hermione pulled him to his feet.

"One last dance. Before I go. I don't really think the one at Halloween counted... after all, people were trying to kill me." Hermione joked as she placed her hands onto Nick's shoulder.

"Sure, why not?" Nick whispered as he placed his arms around Hermione's waist.

"Harry's not going to be happy when he hears you've left." Nick finally said after a few seconds of dancing.

"Why?" Hermione asked as she looked up at Nick, who had an expression on his face that clearly told her he was thinking.

"Well... I was told to look after you. I'll be jobless after you leave, won't I?" Nick answered as he forced himself to smile.

"You could always come to Hogwarts. I'm sure Dumbledore would let you in." Hermione suggested as Nick shrugged.

"I'm going to miss you. A lot." Nick said when the music was coming to a stop.

"So am I, Nick. So am I." Hermione whispered.

"Well... good-bye?" Nick said as the music ended, and the two sixteen year olds disattached themselves from each other.

"Yeah... good-bye." Hermione mumbled as she turned to leave.

"Hermione..." Nick spoke up as the young Gryffindor reached the door.

"Yes?" Hermione asked as she turned around.

"Nothing... nothing at all." Nick smiled sadly as Hermione nodded.

She opened the door, and walked into the hall. Once she was outside, she leaned back onto the door that seperated her from Nicholas Cliffmore...

Tears formed in her eyes, and she sighed deeply.

'Shit, I think I'm in love.' Hermione thought to herself before she wiped the tears out of her eyes, and walked back into her room.

Back in Nick's room, the sixteen year old wizard was thinking the exact same thing...

A/N: THERE WERE SO MANY REVIEWS! I couldn't help but post this chapter... kinda sad, but I hope it met your expectations! I'll try my best to get another chapter up today if I have enough time to write, and another chapter around 6am tomorrow before I catch my plane... but that'll only happen if I get loads of reviews... hehehe... yes, I know, I've become demanding... o well


	24. The Return To Hogwarts

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (24) The Return To Hogwarts

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** When given a chance to leave the Wizarding world once and for all, Harry takes it. But what happens when he ends up bumping into one of his closest friends from Hogwarts at his new school? Will he ever escape magic? Or Voldemort?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine; I'm merely a fifteen year old kid who loves to write crazy fanfics like this one. Don't sue, since I'm not a brilliant genius like J.K. Rowling.

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Happiness and sorrow flowed through the mind of the young sixteen year old witch as she looked out of the window of the train. She was finally going back to Hogwarts. Something that she had been dreaming and praying for in the last few months finally came true. She should be happy...

Then why isn't she?

Hermione Jane Granger couldn't help but think back to the last few weeks she had spent at Scotland High. In the short time she had come to known Nicholas—know the _real_ him... Shutting her eyes, she tried to think about something else. Anything else. Anything other then Nick. But she couldn't.

No matter what she thought, she couldn't get the image of his face out of her mind. His face, his hair, his smile...

"I'm going crazy." Hermione muttered out loud as she shook her head.

"Anything off the trolley dear?" a women's voice shook her out of her thoughts.

She turned, and shook her head again. The women walked away, and once again, she was alone. Or was she?

"I'm telling you, we should've flown there!" a hiss was heard from across Hermione's compartment.

"Are you mad? It's pouring cats and dogs outside! We'd get soaked!" another voice hissed as Hermione got to her feet.

"Listen old man, I'd much rather—"

"Don't call me old man!"

"—get soaked then get caught! Hermione's right across our compartment and—"

"We're wearing white cloaks! It'll get ruined! Do you have any idea—?"

"Stop cutting in!"

"Listen to me Potter, we can't and that's final!"

Hermione froze in her step, and her hand fell upon the handle. '_Was it really Harry?_' she thought to herself as she debated whether she should go check.

"If we can't fly, can we at least blink?"

"Where would we blink to without being seen? Hogsmeade is full of wizards and witches!"

_'Come on! Just go... check to make sure at least!'_ she tried to talk herself into opening the compartment door.

"I know this place close to Hogwarts. Come on, let's go."

_'It's now or never!'_ Hermione thought to herself as she turned the handle, and rushed into the hall, and opened the door of the compartment across from hers.

It was empty. Except for a card from the ever so famous chocolate frogs, it was completely empty. Hermione picked up the card, and looked at the person in front of it.

_It was Harry._

The picture was on it, but it seems someone had taped a small piece of parchment over the description and added their own. She turned it around to read it.

_Harry James Potter_

_Youngest seeker in a thousand years at Hogwarts_

_Resides in Gryffindor house_

_Heart is already taken_

_Currently missing in action_

Her eyes widened when she realized who's writing it was.

"Harry? Harry where are you!" Hermione yelled out loud as she exited the compartment and looked around down the hall.

"Are you alright dear?" the trolley lady asked as she walked over to her.

"I... I think so." Hermione whispered as she looked back into the compartment.

Empty. Completely empty.

She shut her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just need some sleep." Hermione mumbled as she walked back into her compartment.

"I'll wake you up when we reach Hogwarts," the women said with a smile before she left.

Closing her eyes once more, Hermione drifted off to sleep.

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"Hermione!"

"You're back!"

"Thank Merlin your parents caved in!" Ron yelled as the group of students crowded around Hermione Granger.

"You mean thank Dumbledore!" Hermione shouted back with a wide smile on her face.

"Ah... I see your trip back was perfectly fine?" Dumbledore asked as he stood up from the staff table.

"Absolutely." Hermione answered back with a forced smile, knowing that she was lying.

"Many of the first years may not know, but this student is Hermione Granger of Gryffindor house. She was unable to attend for the first two months of the school year, but she's back now. Let's hear a warm round of applause to welcome her back." Dumbledore said as he began to clap.

The rest of the students join in almost immediately, and Hermione was almost shocked to see some of the Slytherins clapping too.

"Thank you," was all Hermione said before she burst out into tears.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Neville asked as Ginny began to cry too.

"She's happy you idiot!" Ginny said as she wiped the tears out of her eyes with a smile.

"I'll never understand girls." Neville muttered to Ron, who looked over at Luna, who had also begun to cry, and nodded his head.

"Are you going to eat, or not?" Ron asked when Hermione at last sat down at the table.

"Fine, fine." Hermione said as she wiped her face clean of tears.

Everyone was about to continue eating their dinner when suddenly—

**_BOOM!_**

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All heads turned towards the hall doors, which were closed.

**_BOOM!_**

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The professor all stood up and pulled their wands out with a look of fear and confusion on their faces.

**_BOOM!_**

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Many of the prefects and older students got to their feet, and also pull their wands out.

**_KABOOM! SMASH!_**

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The doors slid open, and two figures in white cloaks stood there. Hoods covering their faces. A layer of silence fell over the students and teachers, and the people walked up to the teachers table.

"Hello, Severus," one of the cloaked figures hissed in a teasing tone as the Potion's master widened his eyes with fear.

"_You_!" Snape whispered as the figure nodded his head.

"Yes, me."

"Expelliarmus!" the potions master shouted as the cloaked figure was thrown back several dozen feet, and onto the Slytherin table with a smash.

"Kazu!" a voice Hermione recognize very well shouted as she also raised to her feet.

"You! I'll kill you if he's hurt!" the stand cloaked figure yelled as they held their hand out.

A fireball appeared floating inches above the palm of the cloak figure's hand, and they threw it at Snape, who dodged it at the last second.

"Impossible... it can't be!" Hermione whispered as she fell to into Ron's arms in a dead faint.

**A/N:_It's_**_ past 6am right now, and I woke up at 5:30 or so to start writing this...apologizes for not have another chapter written... I still need to get my stuff all packed up since I was flipping through half my notes when I was typing this. Anyways, thanks a million for all the reviews, and I'll try by best to get my hands onto a computer in the next few days. I'm not that sure if I'll succeed or not, but if I do, the first to find out will be you! Anyways, please REVIEW!_


	25. The Hospital Wing

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter: **(25) The Hospital Wing

**Author: **Laen

**Editor: **Fallohe Leng, and LilAzn90

**Summary: **Cliffmore and Granger are back at Hogwarts…. What happens now?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, never will be…

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A/N: I've decided to re-write chapter 25... due to the sloppiness of it, and the flames I've received... I seriously hope this one's better then the last... apologizes for not updating sooner. Please review and tell me what you think!

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"Bloody hell." Kazu whispered as he rolled off the Slytherin table and fell to the ground.

"Kazu, are you alright?" Nicholas asked as he approached his mentor.

"Perfectly fine." Kazu mumbled as he turned towards Severus Snape. "It's good to see that you still remember me… young dragon."

A look of shock appeared onto Nicholas' face, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The sixteen year old teenager turned towards the Potions Master, and smirked.

"You used to be his student?" he asked as Snape scowled at him.

"That, is none of your business." Snape hissed as Kazu chuckled slightly.

"He was my student. Not a very good one though. Gave up way too easily. He was weak, unlike you—"

Kazu hadn't even finished his sentence when Snape sent another attack at him.

"Severus!" Dumbledore yelled over the cries and shouts from the students.

Nicholas' mentor soured through the sky once more, and smashed into the wall that was at least a hundred feet away from the staff table. He slid to the ground in a dead faint, and bloody could be seen upon the wall where his head had made contact with seconds ago.

"Who's weak now, old man?" Severus asked angrily as Nick held his hand out and threw another fireball at him.

"How dare you!" he shouted angrily as Dumbledore and the staff all aimed their wands.

"Throw one more bloody fireball at me and I'll—"

Severus didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, for Nick threw yet another fireball at him. This time, it made contact with the victim. Falling to the ground, Snape rolled around trying to put the burning fire out.

Cries of 'Expelliarmus!' were heard from not only the staff, but also the students of Hogwarts.

Feeling a burst of numbness flow through him, Nick couldn't help but fall to the ground in a dead faint.

Whispers and screaming burst out among the students, and Dumbledore had to send several fireworks up into the sky before he had all their attention.

"Prefects, lead your housemates back to your common rooms, and would the head boy and girl come up to the staff table immediately—yes Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked as he turned his attention to Ron, who had his hand raised.

"I'm taking Hermione to the hospital wing."

Dumbledore nodded, before giving another glance at the students. Everyone got to their feet, and hurried off immediately.

The head boy (Will Camar-Hufflepuff), and head girl (Lisa Zech-Slytherin), both headed up to the staff table.

"We need you two to help move our... guests to the hospital wing. Immediately." Dumbledore said as the two seventh years both nodded, and turned to head towards Nick and Kazu.

"Severus, we must talk." Dumbledore said as he turned towards the potions master.

"Indeed, we must." Snape replied in barely a whisper as his face paled.

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"Hermione, finally, you're awake!" Ron's voice cried out through the hospital wing.

Sixteen year old Nicholas Cliffmore opened his eyes slightly, and looked around his surroundings immediately.

Two beds away, were four students surrounding a figure. Nick presumed the figure to be Hermione. He tried to get up, but felt as if he was just hit by a train. None of his muscles could be moves, and he couldn't say a thing.

"Ron? What happened?" Hermione's soft voice asked in a whisper.

Nick shut his eyes, thinking back to what had happened before he had been hit by the hundreds of stunners.

"You fainted. Do you remember those cloaked figures that came and attacked Snape? You would never believe who they are! It's—"

"Nick and Kazu, isn't it?" Hermione cut into Ron's sentence.

"How did you—how did you know?" Ron asked in shock.

"Never mind that, are you alright Hermione?" Ginny asked in concern.

"Fine. Where are they? Nick and Kazu I mean?" Hermione continued to ask.

"Answer my question!" Ron managed to yell out before Ginny began to talk.

"Nick was hit by at least a hundred stunners, we didn't recognize him until we removed the cloak—do you have any idea why they were wearing cloaks in the first place?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Maybe it's for good luck. Or to show which side the support. Death Eaters all wear black to show that they support Voldemort." Neville suggested as Ron rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right, next thing you'll be saying is they wore it to look nice." Ron snapped as Ginny smacked him across the head.

"Be nice!" Ginny hissed as Ron glared at her.

"I was only suggesting..." Neville muttered as Ron sighed and whispered an apology.

"How badly injured are they? Snape threw Kazu into the Slytherin table didn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he was okay after that. But then Snape threw him across the room and well... he's in a coma now..." Ginny said as Nick's mouth fell open in shock.

"What about Nick?" Hermione asked.

"Stunned. We've no idea what's going on with him. Dumbledore said his magical signature is one of the strongest he's seen since—Voldemort." Ron managed to choke out under his breath.

"I... he... Nick attacked Snape didn't he?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Yeah. Set the greasy git on fire. Colin managed to get a picture of it. I was surprised he could even move. Apparently his brother told him something and he snapped out of shock." Neville answered.

"Dennis?" Luna finally spoke in a dreamy tone.

"No, what was his name? Charles? Chocolate? Charlie? Oh yeah, Charlie!" Ron answered.

"Chocolate? How did Chocolate get into the mix?" Ginny asked as Ron rolled his eyes.

"I said Charlie Ginny!"

"Shut up will you?" Nick finally managed to say something although his voice sounded hoarse.

Sounds of chairs scraping and footsteps approaching were heard as the faces of Nick's friends appeared above him. As Nick looked at their expressions, he noticed that Ron's face looked like as if he had just realized something.

"Nick, are you alright?" Ginny asked in concern.

"Water." Nick whispered as Ron grabbed a glass of water off the table and poured it towards Nick's face.

Nick's mouth was unfortunately opened at the time, and he ended up choking upon the water.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Hermione asked as she rushed over.

Nick continued to cough away, but Ron had a look of anger in his eyes.

"Who the hell are you!" he asked angrily as he grabbed Nick by his robes and pulled him up.

"Answer me!"

Nick continued to cough, and Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and tried to pull him away from the bed, as did everyone else, but he didn't budge.

"Who the hell are you!" Ron asked again in anger.

One single thought appeared onto Nick's mind as he suddenly knew what Ron had realized.

Ron knew who he really was...


	26. Everything Comes Tumbling Out

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (26) Everything Comes Tumbling Out

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Will the truth come out?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"Who the hell are you?" Ron yelled as Nick continued to cough away.

"Calm down Ron!" Ginny shouted as she pulled her wand out.

"_Stu_—"

"_Calimemartei_!" Nick managed to say as Ron froze in his actions.

"Get him off me!" Nick gasped as he wrenched Ron's hands off his t-shirt.

"What's wrong with him!" Neville asked as he and Ginny moved Ron so he was on top of a nearby bed.

"It's kind of like the body bind, except he's just frozen. Period." Nick whispered as he summoned another cup and water, and drank it this time. Nice and slowly.

"Nick, are you alright?" Hermione asked in concern as Nick finally finished the soothing liquid.

"Yeah."

"Why aren't you dead?" Luna asked suddenly.

"What?"

"You were hit with at least a hundred stunners... why aren't you dead?" Luna continued to ask.

"I—the cloaks... the reduce the attacks thrown at us to a good one percent of it's original power... I presume I was hit by Dumbledore's stunner too?" Nick answered.

Ginny nodded to reply his question.

"Why did Kazu get thrown across the room if the cloak was protecting him?" Hermione asked.

"The cloak only protects us from spells that are cast by weak wizards or witches. Wizards who haven't been properly trained and—"

"Are you calling us weak?" Ginny butt in angrily.

"No, all of you... you're strong but—"

"You guys might want to see this." Neville cut in as all eyes fell upon Ron, who Neville had been watching.

The eyes of Ron were moving around like mad, and the expression on his face was mixed with pain, sorrow, worry, and hate.

"Shit. Stand back." Nick said with a cough as he got to his feet.

He whispered something under his breath quietly, and immediately, Ron was released from the charm.

"You! Why did you do it? Do you have any idea how long we searched? And all this time! Damn you H—"

"_Silencio_!" Nick waved his hand, and placed a silencing charm around him and Ron, so the others couldn't hear what they were saying.

"—Harry Potter!" Ron finished angrily.

"You want to know why I did it? The prophecy! I was tired of it! I wanted a normal life! But you know what happened? I ended up going to the same school as one of my best friends and I made the mistake of falling in love with her!" Nick exploded as he grabbed Ron by his t-shirt.

"Yes, I know how long you've been searching! Yes, I know how hard! Yes, I know you're mad but for Merlin's sake, just listen to me!"

"You don't know what it's like! I hate all this fame and fortune! I want freedom! Dumbledore never gave me the freedom I deserved when I was a kid! I ended up living with a family who hated my existence! Do you want to know why I attacked Snape? Because he attacked Kazu!"

"Why did he attack—"

"I don't know! But Kazu saved me from the Dursleys! In the last four months, he's taught me more then I've ever learned from Hogwarts in the last five years! He's my mentor! He's practically like family! I swore on an oath that I would protect him with my life." Nick hissed as tears formed in his eyes.

"I've already lost Sirius, I've already lost my parents, I'm not about to lose someone who gave me four months of a normal life. A NORMAL LIFE! That's why I left!" Nick shouted as he finally released Ron.

"For what seemed like the millionth time in my life, I wanted to be NORMAL! In the last five years... I've been forced to grow up! I've been forced to give up my childhood to fight Voldemort!"

Ron flinched at the name of the dark lord.

"I—I—I... I'm sorry." Nick whispered as he sat back onto his bed and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

"I shouldn't have exploded like that I—"

"Shouldn't have kept it bottled in." Ron cut in.

"I knew something was up when you dived into the lake without resistance. I knew something was up when you beat up a professor because he joked about Hermione's life. I knew something was up when you knew who we were..."

Nick closed his eyes.

"Then why didn't you say something about it."

"I was afraid I was wrong." Ron answered.

"What happens now? You tell Dumbledore?" Nick asked.

"No."

"No?"

"I've got a plan.

"A plan?"

"Yes."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I've no idea. But it won't hurt to try, won't it?"

"No, it won't... but Ron..."

"Yeah?"

"How did you figure out who I really was?"

"The way you reacted when you woke up. Usually people asked 'where am I'. You on the other hand... don't."

Nick frowned slightly.

"Do you think they'll realize that too?"

Ron shook his head.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well... we can start by removing this silencing charm off of us, Hermione and Ginny have been trying to break through it for the last five minutes."

"Oops." Nick grinned sheepishly as he removed the charm.

"What the heck was going on?" Ginny asked first.

"Voldemort took over my body! I have absolutely no idea what was going on! Apparently he thinks Nick's grandpa was cousins with Harry's grandma!" Ron said immediately.

"He does?" Hermione asked.

"Does he now?" Nick muttered under his breath as he gave Ron a look.

"Yeah! It was freaky! It felt all cold... and I couldn't think and—"

'_Thanks Ron.'_ Nick sent the message over mentally.

'_WHAT THE HELL!'_

_'I'm a telepath... meaning I can talk to you mentally... you might want to say something, they're staring.'_ Nick explained as Ron blinked a few times before talking.

"Holy shit."

Nick could only rolls his eyes as he fell back onto his bed dead asleep.

**A/N**_: Good? Or Bad? I'm starting to get a cold... so I don't think I'll be on the computer as much this summer... crap ... PLEASE REVIEW!_


	27. I Need Your Help

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (27) I Need Your Help

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Nick decides to ask someone for help... except it's not Ron, who already knows his secret... it's someone else...

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"Mr. Weasley, for the last time, go to the great hall and eat something already! Even Ms. Granger and your friends have all left! Why can't you?" Madam Pomfrey asked in annoyance as Ron shook his head.

"I've got questions to ask." He tried to explain, but the medi-witch wouldn't allow it.

"Out! Now!"

Ron sighed, and looked back at Nick, who shrugged.

"Room of Requirement, seven o' clock." Ron muttered as he got to his feet, and headed towards the door.

"Thank Merlin that boy's gone! He usually never misses a meal!" the witch said as Nick smiled slightly.

"Drink this."

Madam Pomfrey handed Nick a glass of bubbly liquid, and after taking one look at it, Nick brought it to his mouth, and gulped it all down.

"Well, you're obviously not related to Mr. Potter." Madam Pomfrey sighed as Nick frowned slightly.

"Why?" he asked.

"He usually spits his medication out and complains about leaving the hospital wing," the witch explained as she took the glass away from him, and walked towards her office.

"Was everyone that observant of Harry?" Nick asked loudly, hoping for an answer.

"Yeah, apparently they were," a voice answered.

Nick's head snapped towards the direction of the front door, and a smile slowly appeared onto his face.

"Hey mate," he said as he coughed slightly.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Just gulped down some nasty potion. Aftertaste's still in my mouth. Sick." Nick explained as his friend chuckled slightly.

"So, what brings you down to the hospital wing, Charlie?"

Charlie smiled slightly, before taking something out of his pocket, and handing it to Nick.

"What's this?" Nick asked as he flipped through the pictures.

The first one was a picture of Harry, standing up to Snape, pointing his wand at him, and was apparently yelling his head off.

The second one, was a picture of Nick, throwing a fireball at Snape, and was apparently yelling at him too.

"Look at the similarities. What do you notice?" Charlie asked as he sat down on the chair next to Nick's bed.

"Both left handed." Nick answered.

"You and I both know what there aren't many left handed witches or wizards. Look at the movement, it's practically the same." Charlie said as he pointed it out in the pictures.

"My brother's got a theory, that _you're_ Harry Potter." Charlie finished.

"You've got to be joking! I don't have the scar!" Nick said as he pulled his hair away from his forehead.

"But all the facts add up and—"

"I'm not joking Charlie! When I say I'm _not_ Harry Potter, I mean it!" Nick snapped angrily as Charlie got to his feet.

"Fine! Calm down won't you! Jeez. I was merely asking. I tell Colin he's wrong." Charlie said as he turned to leave.

"Tell him he's dead wrong!" Nick continued to snap away.

Only when Charlie left, did he sink into his pillow, and sigh.

"How are people figuring this out so easily?" he asked in barely a whisper.

"Maybe Potter, it is because you speak of it so willingly when you presume no one can hear you?" a cold voice asked as Nick sat back up in shock.

"Oh shit!" he swore angrily as footsteps could be heard approaching his bed.

"What do you want?" he asked as he held his hand up, ready to attack.

"To talk, Potter," the cold voice answered.

"We've got nothing to talk about." Nick mumbled back.

"We've got a lot to talk about, Potter. First, you're going to tell me how you found Kazu, and what you said to convince him to train you."

"I'd much rather face Voldemort before telling you, Snape!" Nick hissed as the head of Slytherin pulled his wand out.

"Do not speak of his name in my presence!"

"Then stop calling me by that name! That name belongs to the past, I'm no longer who you think I am. I'm Nicholas Cliffmore!" Nick tried to explain but Snape cut him off.

"What are you going to do about Weasley? And that other friend of yours?"

"What do mean, what am I going to do?" Nick asked.

"I suggest you erase their minds of the memory. I've already done so to Creevey, to save you some trouble."

"What? Why?"

"Listen Po—Cliffmore, you came here to continue your school work, didn't you? Or did Kazu force you to return?" Snape asked.

"The war is going to start soon, Vol—" Nick sighed, "—you-know-who's coming! That's why I came back!"

"Not because you've found a liking to that mudblood friend of yours?" Snape asked coldly.

A fireball with blue flames suddenly appeared in Nick's palm, and a look of hatred directed towards Snape told the Potions Master all he needed to know.

"Granger—I meant Granger!" Snape corrected immediately.

"Why should I oblivate Ron's memory of me being—me?" Nick asked.

"Weasley's got a big mouth..."

"He never told anyone about Sirius, or—"

"He will tell Dumbledore, I assure you. Erase his memory now, and avoid having to deal with the troubles." Snape cut in.

"Why—why are you trying to help me?" Nick asked.

"Because—Cliffmore. All students of the Dragon Master made an oath when they join his ranks, they would help those students who needed the help." Snape explained.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke.

"If that's how it goes then... I need your help." Nick said as he looked up at the potions master with a look of determination in his eyes.

A frown appeared onto Snape's face, but he nodded nevertheless.

"What's the problem?"

**A/N:** _Good or bad? Ron's memory of Nick being Harry will be erased, and no one except Snape will know. I'll answer how Snape figured it out next chapter, and those who are Slytherin fans, stay toned, those who aren't, sorry! PLEASE REVIEW!_


	28. Questions Answered

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (28) Questions Answered

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Nick erases Ron's memory of him being Harry... asks Severus Snape a few questions... and enters Hogwarts as a sixth year student... but in which house?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"_Oblivate_!" Nick whispered as a confused gaze appeared onto Ron's face.

"Huh? Nick, what are you doing here? Heck, what am I doing here?" Ron asked as he looked around.

"You were under the control of death eaters when I woke up, and attacked me without really meaning to, you will have absolutely no memory of Nicholas Cliffmore being Harry Potter. You will only remember that Cliffmore is a distant relative of Potter... _Oblivate__ Complito!"_

Another confused gaze fell over Ron's face, and Nick hurried out of the Room of Requirement. Five seconds later, Cliffmore appeared in a blink of an eye outside the dungeon office of Severus Snape, and he knocked on it twice.

"Enter," the cold and cruel familiar voice of Snape was heard from the door as Nick opened the door and walked into the room.

"Sit." Snape instructed as Nick did as he was told.

"Ron doesn't have any memory of me being—"

"Wait!" Snape hissed as he pulled his wand out, and placed a powerful silencing charm around the room.

"I erased his memory already." Nick stated as Snape nodded.

"Good."

"I have questions for you to answer before we start the plan."

"Start asking then."

"I usually use my right hand when I do my spell work, how is it Colin managed to catch a photo of me using my left?"

"Our crazy photographer takes thousands if not hundreds of pictures of you, he probably looked through them and found it." Snape answered as Nick nodded.

"Good point. How did you realize it was me?" Nick continued.

"There is a hate I feel for only three people in the world. One of those people is dead, the other wouldn't be caught dead at Hogwarts, and the third is... you." Snape explained.

"My dad, Tom Riddle, and me... should've known." Nick sighed.

"Tsk, tsk, Potter... poor grammer, as always." Snape noted as Nick rolled his eyes.

"How did you meet Kazu?" Nick asked next.

"He came to me, offering help, years ago. I took it, but gave up when we weren't even half way done, because I joined the ranks of the dark lord." Snape answered.

"Are you going to tell Dumbledore about me?"

"No."

"Why not? You're in that bloody order of his aren't you? You're one of his slaves aren't you?"

"Because Potter, that man kept secrets from me too, and because of those secrets, I lost my mother."

"Don't call me Potter."

"Don't say I'm a slave then, for Snapes don't listen to the command of anyone."

"You listen to Dumbledore, and you listen to Tom."

"Not anymore."

"Good. Let's put the plan into action then."

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"You wish to become a student at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked with a frown on his face.

"What else do you expect me to do Dumbledore? Your staff injured my mentor, and he's currently in a coma. I blame Hogwarts for that. You don't really expect me to stay in the hospital wing all day waiting for him to wake up do you?" Nick threw back as Dumbledore sighed.

"Don't make me contact Fudge, knowing him, he'd be more then happy to throw you out of Hogwarts." Nick smirked Slytherin like as Dumbledore's frown worsen.

"Of course. But we must know your background." Dumbledore said at last.

"Potter's grandmother had a brother who supposedly died when he was young, didn't he?" Nick asked.

"Nicholas Cliffmore." Dumbledore said as a look of shock appeared onto his face.

"The third, sits right here in front of your eyes." Nick said he raised his hands slightly for drama.

"Impossible."

"Anything possible, old man." Nick smiled slightly.

"So that means..."

"Yeah, Potter and I are distant relatives, blablabla. Realized that already, Kazu explained it all. Now can I get sorted already?" Nick asked.

"Yes, of course." Dumbledore answered, regaining his calmness.

With a wave of his wand, the sorting hat was summoned and Nick placed it upon his head.

_'Ah... Potter!'_ the sorting hat said with delight inside Nick's head.

_'Yes, me. You can see what goes on in my head, so get along with the plan already.'_

_'I see you have finally agreed with what I said five years ago.'_

_'Yes, I have, now hurry up, the old fool's waiting.'_

_'Spoken like a true **Slytherin**,'_ the sorting hat shouted the last word out loud and a smirk appeared onto Nick's face.

_'Indeed.'_

_'Well, it's been a pleasure.'_

_'The feeling is mutual.'_

Nick removed the hat, and placed it onto Dumbledore's table.

"What's the password?" he asked as he got to his feet.

"Salazar." Dumbledore answered as Nick rolled his eyes.

"No wonder it's so easy to get in." he muttered as he headed towards the door.

"Mr Cliffmore, you do understand that robes are a must?" Dumbledore asked as Nick nodded.

"Of course, and I guarantee you, there will be robes tomorrow in class." Nick promised as he left the office and blinked down to Diagon Alley.

Reaching into his pocket and pulling out the bag of galleons he had taken out of his vault earlier that summer, Nick decided to go shopping...

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"Students, may I have your attention please? As some of you may have heard already, we are having a new student at Hogwarts. I presume that the students of Slytherin will treat him with respect and kindness. Let's give a nice round of applause for Nicholas Cliffmore. Slytherin sixth year." Dumbledore said as Nick got to his feet, and quiet clapping could be heard.

"I refuse to believe he got sorted to Slytherin! There's got to be a mistake!" Ron cried out from the Gryffindor table.

"No mistake at all, Weasley." Nick shouted back.

"But... you saved Hermione! Twice!"

"All part of the plan Weasley, all part of the plan."

"What bloody plan are you talking about?" Ron asked in horror.

"Befriend the mudblood, earn her trust, weasel my way into Hogwarts." Nick answered in barely a whisper as he looked over at Hermione, who had a look of nothing but shock and pain on her face.

He felt himself shatter, but he knew he had to keep the act up. Not only his, but Snape's lives depended on it.

"You son of a—"

"Finish that sentence, and you will find yourself waking up at the hospital wing with more then twenty broken bones in your body and at least half a dozen dislocated areas." Nick threatened angrily.

Ron remained quiet, but Nick knew he was as mad as hell.

"Mr. Cliffmore, twenty points from Slytherin for threatening a student, and a week's worth of detention, now sit down." Professor McGonagall hissed as Nick smirked dangerous.

"My pleasure." He said as he did as he was told.

Taking one last glance at Hermione, he felt his heart stop at the sight. Tears streamed down her face, and the Gryffindors around her were trying hard to stop her crying.

Forcing himself to look away, Nick placed on a false evil smirk, and began to eat dinner as if there was nothing wrong in the world at all.

**A/N: **_Too cruel? Sorry, but heart breaks must happen for Snape and Nick's plan to work out. Spying on Slytherins isn't easy especially when they think you're a light wizard._


	29. Problems? Already?

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (29) Problems? Already?

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Malfoy approaches Cliffmore and they both have a long talk... one that Ginny overhears... what happens now?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"It's got to be a joke; it has got to be a joke!" Ron hissed in anger as he turned towards the Slytherin table, where Nick sat with a smirk upon his face.

"No Ron, you heard what he said... it was nothing but a plot... maybe he's in with Snape or something, maybe it was all an act!" Hermione whispered as tears streamed down her face.

"But what if... what if..." Ginny couldn't continue, as a look of confusion appeared onto her face.

"Of course, why didn't I think of it?" Ginny cried out as she jumped to her feet, crashing into someone behind her.

"Watch where you're going Weasel!" Malfoy's cold voice was heard as Ginny turned around in anger.

 "Ah, Granger, had your heart shattered by Cliffmore? Smart wizard, he is. Played you like a fool. Sad. I thought you would've been smarter, trusting someone so easily..." Draco smirked as Ron got to his feet.

"Leave Malfoy, or you'll regret this." Ron said, pulling his wand out.

"And I didn't trust him _so easily_! He said Harry sent him! He even had Harry's Firebolt and stuff!" Hermione snapped as more tears streamed down his face.

"Potter?" Malfoy had a confused expression on his face.

"Enjoy your meals; it might be your last." Draco said as he turned around, and walked out of the great hall.

Ginny turned towards the Slytherin table, and saw Nicholas Cliffmore staring back at them with an emotionless expression on his face. He got to his feet, and followed Malfoy out of the great hall.

"I'll be right back; I need to go to the washroom." Ginny lied as she to, got to her feet and left the great hall.

After walking through a few hallways, Ginny finally heard some loud talking...

"Listen, I don't know what the bloody hell you're up to, but the Dark Lord didn't hire you to do it! Stay out of Hogwarts!" Draco hissed as Ginny inched closer.

"Do you think I don't know that?" Nick hissed back.

Ginny looked around the corner of the hallway, and saw Nick and Draco, both glaring at each other angrily. Draco had his wand out, and Nick had nothing.

"You claim you don't care about the mudblood or any of the Gryffindorks, then why did you save them?" Draco asked as Nick sighed.

"Did you not hear a word I said back in the great hall Malfoy? _'ALL PART OF THE PLAN!'_ The answer's that simple!" Nick growled.

"O really? Prove it then. Prove that you're a Slytherin!" Malfoy demanded angrily.

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to do that? Attack a first year?" Nick asked.

"No, a fifth year would do well enough. Weasley's right around the corner, spying on us." Draco smirked.

Ginny turned around to run, but found herself in a bodybind quicker then you could say help.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Nick asked with a sly smile as he approached the Gryffindor.

"What do you think you're doing, Weasel? I know I'm handsome, but to spy on me like that? Why didn't you just ask?" Draco whispered as his index finder slid down Ginny's frozen cheek.

"You wanted me to prove I'm a Slytherin, didn't you?" Nick asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes." Draco answered back.

"Give her to me for the rest of the night." Nick now had an evil and dangerous look on his face.

"Sure, why not. You know what to do? To prove your loyalty?" Draco asked as Nick nodded almost immediately.

"Good, I'll see you in the morning, Cliffmore." Draco said as he walked away.

Nick levitated Ginny from the ground, and placed an invisibility charm on the two of them as he headed towards the room of requirements. They arrived there minutes later, and Nick removed the charm as soon as they went inside.

"You bastard!" Ginny growled as she pulled her wand out, and got ready to hex Cliffmore.

"Calm down!" Nick shouted as he dodged a flash of red light.

"How dare you even think about using me as a... a playtoy!" Ginny shrieked as she shot another hex at Nick.

The sixteen year old teen had to flip out of the way this time, and ended up landing in a couch.

"Calm down for Merlin's sake and let me explain!" Nick yelled as he ducked a curse Ginny threw at him.

"Dear Lord this is going to take forever." Nick mumbled under his breath as he got to his feet, and deflected the attack with his hand.

A fireball immediately appeared in the palm of his hand, and as he walked closer and closer towards Ginny, he noticed the look of fear on her face.

"Sit." He instructed as the Gryffindor did as she was told.

"Now, will you listen to what I have to say before you start throwing hexes at me?" Nick asked as Ginny nodded faintly.

"Good." Nick muttered as he too, sat down.

The fireball in his hand disappeared, and the sixteen year old boy sighed before shutting his eyes. Ginny noticed that he looked a couple years older by the tiredness.

"She's mad at me, isn't she?" Nick asked after a few moments of silence.

"Why shouldn't she?" Ginny shot back.

"Good point."

There was another moment of silence.

"Why are you in Slytherin?" Ginny asked in barely a whisper.

"I belong in Slytherin." Nick answered.

"Why did you act so... cruel to Hermione?"

"I had a plan... it sounded pretty easy at first... it wasn't."

"What was the plan?"

Nick sighed, before shaking his head.

"I can't tell you. Or everything will be ruined."

"Please... maybe I can help. Hermione'll never believe you if you come back claiming you acted cruel because of a plan that might not even work." Ginny pleaded.

Another sigh escaped Nick.

"What was it that Ron realized so suddenly back at the hospital wing, but can't remember now?" Ginny asked.

Nick remained silent.

"Why did Snape erase Charlie and Colin's memories?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Fred and George weren't the only Weasleys who knew the short cuts around Hogwarts."

"I... I seriously can't tell you. If I do, I'll have to erase your memory afterwards too."

"What's so important about Nicholas Cliffmore that you can't tell me?" Ginny asked with a frown on her face.

"Or... or is it not Nicholas Cliffmore... it's... no, you can't be!" Ginny whispered as she got to her feet, wand aimed at Nick.

"Ginny, Ginny sit down!" Nick instructed, but the youngest Weasley refused to do as he said.

"Why'd you erase Ron's memory?" Ginny asked angrily as Nick too, got to his feet.

"I had to! I had no choice! He might've told Dumbledore! And the last thing I need is the bloody order on my tail!" Nick snapped angrily.

"What was it about the Wizarding world that made you run away for nearly half a year!" Ginny asked in nearly a shriek.

"The prophecy for Merlin's sake! That's what!" Nick yelled back.

"So you admit it! You're not Nicholas Cliffmore?"

"No! I—I—I... I don't know God damn it." Nick whispered as he sank back into his seat.

"Harry... why didn't you just tell us?" Ginny asked in a soft whispered.

"I don't want Voldemort to kill you. Any of you. I care about you guys too much to lose you." Nick stated as tears formed in Ginny's eyes.

"Harry..." Ginny whispered as she knelt down in front of Nick.

"Don't you get it? If you just run away from your problems, you can't fix anything. If we don't know you're okay, you've already lost us..." Ginny said as Nick shut his eyes and shook his head.

"Why is it the Weasleys figure things out first?" Nick asked as he looked up at her.

"We've known you the longest." Ginny smiled slightly.

"Not to mention... you're family."

"Thanks Ginny." Nick whispered as he gave the youngest red head a hug.

"Thanks a lot."

"For what?"

"Everything." Nick answered.

"Harry?"

"Nick, call me Nick okay?

"Okay. Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to do about Malfoy?"

"Oh shit." Nick whispered with a sigh as he shut his eyes once more, trying to think.

**GShans**- _Which chapter is that in? The 'thousands if not hundreds' line? 27? About the stunners? I'll go back and check later... see what a stupid cold can do to a kid? Messes up their brain pretty well... not to mention I got locked outside when it was 30 degrees Celsius outside... that's like... 60 Fahrenheit? Can't remember... O well and about the length of the writing? I'll try my best to improve the length... that's all I can say... really depends on how much time I have..._

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**A/N:**_ What are they going to do now? How is Nick/Harry gonna get past Malfoy? And should he or should he not erase Ginny's memory? Review and comment, and maybe I'll update sooner then usual. Grins... also, is this length okay?___


	30. Sexual Assault

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (30) Sexual Assault

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Ginny ends up in the hospital wing... Ron, Hermione, and Neville attack Cliffmore, and the young Slytherin somehow becomes friends with Malfoy...

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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THIS CHAPTER IS RATED 14A FOR VIOLENCE AND HARSH CURSES

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"Good Heavens Miss Weasley! What happened?" Madame Promfrey asked in shock when she saw the fifth year Gryffindor stagger into the hospital wing.

"Help... Nicholas Cliffmore... attack..." Ginny whispered before she fainted to the ground.

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"Mr. Cliffmore, you understand that sexually assaulting a student can result to being expelled?" Dumbledore asked as he stared at the sixteen year old Slytherin.

"I swear to God, I didn't do that to her!" Nick shouted angrily as he jumped to his feet.

"How do you know we are talking about a female student, Mr. Cliffmore? And why would you presume I was suspecting you? The last few words she spoke before she fainted were simply your name... that was all." Dumbledore stated in a calm voice.

_'Take it easy, he's just trying to ruffle you up.'_ Nick thought to himself as he sat down.

"First off Dumbledore, if you were referring to me, why the bloody hell would I sexually assault a guy unless I was gay... and I'm _not_ gay, Merlin forbid!" Nick spat out in disgust.

"Then would you care to explain where you were in the last two hours?" Albus Dumbledore requested.

"I was with—"

"Me, Albus. The boy was with me."

Nick turned around, and his worries all disappeared.

"Professor Snape." Nick acknowledged as the Potions Master gave him a slight nod.

"Cliffmore was with me, we were brewing some potions." Severus said as he pulled a few potions out.

"What potions?" Dumbledore asked.

"Healing potions." Snape answered.

"Why, may I ask, were you two brewing those?"

"Last time I checked Albus, a healing potion is O.W.L. standard. I had to make sure he was capable of being in my advance N.E.W.T.s class before letting him in." Snape countered as Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"I see. And are you positive you two were brewing potions in the last two hours?"

The two Slytherins both nodded.

"Very well, you may leave Nicholas." Dumbledore said as the sixteen year old got to his feet, gave him a smug look, then turned around and walked out of the door, with Severus Snape following him shortly.

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"Ron! I was down in the hospital wing because of a bleeding nose, and I saw Ginny walk in! She looked pretty beat up!" Colin Creevey cried out as he ran into the Gryffindor common room.

Ronald Weasley, Nevillie Longbottom, and Hermione Granger all stood up and hurried out of the common room the moment they heard this.

"Wait! She said something about Nicholas Cliffmore!" Colin yelled after them, but it was too late, the three friends were already out the door.

"Mum's gonna kill me!" Ron whispered as they hurried down the hallway.

"Ah... little Gryffindors out of their common rooms after hours?" an evil voice was heard.

"Filch." Hermione whispered as the three friends all turned to see the squib staring at them evilly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... students out of bed... not very good..." Argus Filch said as Neville sighed in disbelief.

"Whatever, we're going to the hospital wing, sod off!" he snapped as he hurried off with a stunned Hermione and Ron running after him.

"What was that about?" Ron asked as he and Hermione finally caught up to the Gryffindor.

"I'm wasn't about to stand there and chat while my girlfriend was in the hospital wing!" Neville hissed as he screeched to a stop outside the door of the school hospital wing.

Voices could be heard from the inside.

"Poppy, are you sure?"

"Yes, she said his name. When he threatened to hurt Mr. Weasley tonight at dinner, I thought he was merely joking. Who'd ever thought he would attack Ginny Weasley? Minerva, these house rivalries must stop as it is! There's been too many attacks already!" Madame Promfrey's voice was heard from through the door.

Without waiting a single second, both Ron and Neville stormed into the room.

"What happened to Ginny?" Ron asked as Neville asked: "Who attacked her?"

"Mr. Weasley! Mr Longbottom! You're supposed to be in your common rooms! And Miss Granger! Out of bed on your first night back already! I expected better from—"

"What happened to Ginny?" Ron and Neville both yelled at the same time angrily.

"She's in the care of Madame Promfrey right now. No answers will be given until your sister is awake Mr. Weasley. The same goes for you, Mr. Longbottom." Professor McGonagall said as Neville frowned.

"Can you tell me at least who attacked her?" Neville asked.

"I'm sorry, but Professor Dumbledore himself is questioning the suspected student as we speak, for all we know... we might not even have the correct attacker."

"Suspected student? Who's name did Ginny say?" Hermione questioned.

"Miss Granger, this is seriously none of your business!"

"Of course! Nick! He was the one who threatened me today at dinner!" Ron stated in barely a whisper as he looked up at his friends with a look of hate in his eyes.

"He's the one who attacked Ginny." He hissed before he stormed out of the room with his wand in his hands.

Neville Longbottom followed shortly, and so did Hermione Granger. Nothing Professor McGonagall said could stop them as she took fifty points off Gryffindor.

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"That was close..." Nick whispered once they were down the moving stairway to Dumbledore's office.

"Too close. But I must say, our answers were all true." Snape smirked as Nick nodded.

"Indeed, we just forgot to mention we made a scar forming potion and placed a few magical bruises on her."

"Yes, well, you'd better get back to your common rooms. It's getting late, and—"

"_Stupefy!"_

Both Nick and Severus jumped out of the way of a powerful stunning spell.

"What the—"

"Come on out you good for nothing Slytherin!" a cry was heard from down the hall.

"I can't believe I trusted you!" another voice was heard.

"I'll tear you limp from limp when I get my hands on you Cliffmore!"

"I recognize that voice!" Nick whispered as he looked up in shock.

"Impossible." Snape said under his breath as he too, looked up in shock.

"Longbottom?"

"Weasley?"

"Herm—I mean, Granger?"

"What do you three think you're doing? Attack a teacher and student in the hallway like that?" Snape asked angrily as he too, whipped his wand out.

"You attacked Ginny!" Neville yelled as he dropped his wand and ran towards Nick.

The sixth year Slytherin, completely taken off guard, was tackled by the Gryffindor, and fell to the ground in pain. There, the Gryffindor began to punch away at Cliffmore.

"Ahh!" Nick cried out as Neville punched him in the eye.

"Get off me!" Nick shouted as he tried to get Neville off of him.

"_Stupefy!"_ Ron and Hermione both cried out as they pointed their wands at Snape, who blocked the spell easily.

A few more punches later, a loud crack was heard, and Nick's nose was broke. Bloody spilt out almost immediately.

"Bloody hell!" Nick shouted as he finally managed to push Neville off of him.

"Longbottom! Fifty points off Gryffindor! Weasley! Granger! Another fifty points off Gryffindor for attacking a teacher! And a weeks worth of detention for the three of you!" Snape yelled angrily as Nick moaned in pain on the ground.

"Pitiful. You're supposed to be Kazu's greatest student?" Snape asked in disgust as he kicked Nick hard in the ribs.

"Makes me wonder if I should've helped in from the start. Stupid Wizarding oaths." Snape hissed as he turned and walked away.

"Bastard." Nick whispered as he coughed blood out of his mouth.

"All he cares about is what people think about him. Can't look soft on a student." Nick tried to get to his feet, and the pain was too intense.

"Fuck. Bastard broke my rib." Nick whispered as he gasped for air.

"You deserved it. Attacking my sister like that!" Ron shouted as he walked over to the Slytherin.

"Slimy Slytherin!" Ron insulted as he kicked Nick across the face.

More blood escaped the sixteen year old's mouth, mixed with the blood from Nick's nose, and another cry of pain could be heard.

"You're probably a death eater for all we know!" Neville said as he kicked Nick in the ribs, causing another one to shatter.

"Hermione... help." Nick gasped as he looked up at the person who he had known for so long.

A murderous expression was on her face.

"Forget about it Cliffmore. You Slytherins are all the same. Cruel and cold blooded. Come on you guys, let's go see Ginny." Hermione said as she turned around and walked away.

"Fuck!" Nick swore angrily as he laid there in pain.

Several moments passed by in silence before someone walked by.

"Cliffmore? What the bloody hell happened to you?"

Nick looked up, and sighed.

"Hey Malfoy." He whispered as the sixth year Slytherin pulled his wand out.

After a few well chosen incantations, spells, and charms, the blood was cleaned up, and the ribs and broken nose was fixed. The bruises on the other hand, remained.

"So, what happened?" Malfoy asked as he helped Cliffmore to his feet.

"Sent Ginny Weasley to the hospital wing bleeding like hell with bruises everywhere... Weasley and Longbottom decided to give me revenge. Granger stood there glaring at me. I thought you said they were nice?" Nick muttered.

"I never said that. Maybe you heard it from a Hufflepuff." Malfoy smirked as Nick frowned.

"Why would I talk to a Hufflepuff?" he asked as he and Malfoy both headed towards the Slytherin common room.

"You know Cliffmore, you seriously need to get out of those clothes. They're all blood stained. It's sad. Not to mention your face. You realize you've got a black eye now? You look pretty beat up too." Malfoy said as Nick sighed.

Summoning a mirror to his hands, Nick couldn't help but agree with Draco Malfoy. He did look sad.

"Hey Malfoy." Nick muttered suddenly as he looked over at the blond.

"What?" Malfoy asked as they reached the entrance of the Slytherin common room.

"Have I proved my loyalty?"

There was a moment of silence... then...

"Salazar." Draco spoke.

The door opened, and the Slytherin sixth year stepped inside.

"This is merely the first test Cliffmore. I'll talk to the upper level, maybe you'll have the luck of becoming one of us if you pass all the tests." Malfoy smirked as Nick gave him a faint nod back.

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**A/N:**_ Good or bad? I'm updating early because I won't be on the computer later... anyways, REVIEW!_


	31. Another Injury

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (31) Another Injury

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** First day at Hogwarts for Nick... well, not really... anyways, he goes through classes and... is it what he planned it to be?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"Mr. Cliffmore, glad you decided to join us. Is there a reason why you're late today?" Snape asked as Nick entered the dungeons.

"Sorry Professor, Professor McGonagall stopped me in the halls and demanded to know what happened to me." Nick answered as he flinched slightly.

"I see, well, sit down and get ready then." Snape said as Nick nodded, and sat down next to Malfoy near the back of the classroom.

"That's not fair! We came in before him, and you took twenty points off Gryffindor! Not to mention gave us detention!" Ron spoke up as all eyes shifted towards the three students seated near the front.

"Ah, Weasley... speaking out of terms? Ten points off Gryffindor. And another five for just being you." Snape smirked as Ron opened his mouth to complain again, but Hermione stomped on his foot, hard.

"What do you think about that Weasley? Taking five points off Gryffindor for just being you? Unfair? No? Refusal to answer, another five points off Gryffindor. So, what do you think about my treatment towards you Weasley?" Snape asked as Ron's face began to turn red.

"I think you're favouring the Slytherins... and you simply hate the Gryffindors because we're worth ten times more than you Slimy Slytherins!" Ron hissed back in reply as the room suddenly turned very, very cold.

"Twenty points of Gryffindor, and a weeks worth of detention with Filch." Snape whispered as Ron glared at him.

"Ron, that's enough!" Hermione said as Ron continued to glare at the Potions Master.

"As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, we will be learning how to make advance healing potions today. Potions to heal bruises such as black eyes." Snape said as his eyes shifted to Nick, who looked away with a sigh.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work already!" Snape said as the instructions appeared onto the chalkboard.

Sounds of chairs scraping could be heard as the students all hurried around to get their cauldrons and ingredients to begin making their potion.

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Several students headed towards the great hall for lunch, but Nick stopped in his steps and headed down another corridor.

"Hey Cliffmore! Wrong way!" Malfoy shouted as Nick turned to reply.

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

Draco didn't bother to ask where Nick was going. Ron, Hermione, and Neville on the other hand... were rather curious.

A few minutes later, Nick stopped outside the door to the hospital wing, and knocked on it twice. It was soon opened by Madame Promfrey.

"Mr. Cliffmore! What happened to your face?" the nurse asked.

"Ran into a door," Nick lied as he entered the hospital wing.

Several feet away, the three Gryffindors all looked at each other with confusion. Inside the room, Madame Promfrey was trying to fix Nick's bruises, but the Slytherin refused to let her place even once single healing charm on him.

"I don't understand why—"

"Let's just say I want a souvenir to remind myself never to be this stupid." Nick explained as he headed towards Ginny's bed.

"How's she doing?" Nick asked as he looked down upon her sleeping figure.

"Not so well. She hasn't woken up since she fainted last night." Madame Promfrey sighed.

"Get the counter potion for 'draught of the living dead' from Professor Snape... and here's the healing potion that'll heal those scars and bruises." Nick said as he handed Madame Promfrey a vile of clear white liquid.

"Mr. Cliffmore! What's—"

"_Oblivate__!"_ Nick said as he waved his hand across the nurse's face.

"One of the students from Professor Snape's sixth year class brought you that potion after they made it in class today... but you don't remember who it is. Make sure to get the counter potion for 'draught of the living dead' from Professor Snape in order to wake Ginny up. _Oblivate__ Complito!" _Nick muttered as he waved his hand across the nurse's face once more.

He turned around, and began to head towards the exit of the hospital wing when he noticed the three people outside staring at him in confusion.

"Move," he said as the three Gryffindors did as they were told.

Thinking he could get out of the situation without any questions asked, Nick walked out of the hospital wing. But then...

WHAM!

A surge of pain went through Nick's stomach as he felt his rib cage break again.

"Ahh..." he whispered as he fell to his knees.

"Trying to fix things now?" Neville asked in a cold yet cruel tone.

"Are you sure you weren't supposed to be sorted into Slytherin?" Nick asked as Ron punched him across the face.

Once again, Hermione merely stood watching.

"You're nothing but a weak Slytherin. A Death Eater. You won't even fight back." Ron said as he kicked Nick in the leg, and caused something to break.

"Beat to death outside the hospital wing... do you have any idea how ironic that is?" Nick asked with a soft chuckle as Neville closed the door and placed a silencing and 'notice-me-not' charm around them.

"Why won't you fight back?" Hermione finally asked after several moments of silence.

"Harming those I care about isn't really on top of my to-do list." Nick whispered in a voice so quiet, only Hermione could hear.

A look of confusion appeared onto the Gryffindors face, but Nick merely stared back with an emotionless expression on his face.

"I've got to go eat lunch. See you in transfiguration." Nick muttered as he staggered to his feet, and walked away.

"Hermione, what'd he say to you?" Neville asked as he turned to the book-worm.

"It's confusing... it's really confusing..." Hermione muttered as she stared after the Slytherin who walked away from them with a limp in his leg...

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"Dobby! Dobby, you here?" Nick asked as he staggered into the kitchens.

House-elves ran around cooking and cleaning, and after a few seconds, Dobby ran up in his weirdly chosen clothing and gave Nick a look of curiosity.

"You called, sir?"

"Dobby, I need your help." Nick said as he placed his weight onto his right leg and winced slightly, looking down at his left leg, which seemed to be broken, and the poor excuse of a cast he had created on his way here.

"Sir, what happened?" Dobby asked as he looked up at Nick in a look of concern.

"Nothing... I was just wondering, do you think you can help me get a muggle item?" Nick asked as he looked down at the house elf.

"Of course." Dobby replied.

"Ok, I need a pair of crutches... and some food would be great." Nick said as Dobby snapped his hands, and a pair of crutches appeared.

"Thanks Dobby. Oh yeah, Harry asked me to say hi to you." Nick smiled slightly as a look of excitement appeared onto Dobby's face.

"Harry Potter? Mr. Harry Potter asked you to say hi to Dobby? Dobby is most honoured sir! If Dobby may ask, what is sir's name?"

"It's Nick. Just Nick."

"Of course Mr. Nick. Do you wish to sit down and eat? There is a table just around the corner." Dobby said as he began to lead Nick through the kitchen.

"Sure." Nick answered, not knowing what else to say.

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"Mr. Cliffmore! Care to explain why you're late for class? And why you're using those ridiculous things!" Professor McGonagall said as Nick staggered into Transfigurations class.

"I fell down the stairs and broke my leg. I thought Madame Promfrey would be busy taking care of Ms. Weasley so I didn't bother to go visit." Nick lied as he sat down beside Malfoy near the back across the row from Hermione and Ron.

"What is that thing on your leg?" the head of Gryffindor asked.

"It's a cast." Nick answered as he pulled his items out of his bag and a very familiar item out of his backpack.

"Hey, that's one of the fake wands Fred and George made! Why are you using that instead of your real wand?" Ron asked loudly as all heads turned towards the Slytherin holding the fake wand.

"Picked up the wrong one." Nick lied once more as he pulled another stick out of his bag.

This one was made of willow.

"Doesn't look like an Olivander's wand." Malfoy muttered to Nick as McGonagall began her lesson.

"Who said anything about a wand? This is just a piece of stick." Nick mumbled back as he began to concentrate on the lesson.

"Why the bloody hell are you using a stick instead of a wand?" Malfoy asked as a soft cough could be heard.

"Is there something the two of you wish to share with the rest of the class? Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Cliffmore?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yeah, Harry Potter's hiding in the chamber of secrets, but no one except the dark lord can get him because they can't speak snake language." Nick said in a false cheerful tone as McGonagall's expression darkened.

"Twenty points of Slytherin, and another weeks worth of detention for you," the witch said as Nick shrugged.

"What was that you idiot? If you talk so willingly of the dark lord everyone will think you're a death eater!" Malfoy whispered to Nick as the teen shrugged once more.

"Who cares." He asked as Malfoy glared at him angrily.

"Riddle will if you keep making a fool of yourself, and might I add, 'crucio' is not fun."

**A/N:**_ Good or bad? And by the way... Ginny does know the secret still... they merely placed her under her condition as an act to Malfoy... and Snape needed to keep up with his evil reputation, that's why he kicked Nick while he was down... Nick's leaving small hints for his friends, but nothing too big because... well, you'll see... anyways, just review!_


	32. The Talk

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (32) The Talk

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Malfoy makes a slip... Nick starts to suspect something... and a talk with Ginny

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"What do you mean, _Riddle?_" Nick hissed as Malfoy's face paled.

"I—I meant... the dark lord. Not Riddle. I was... merely thinking of someone else." Draco Malfoy tried to correct as Nick stared at him in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Yes." Malfoy gulped.

"I'm watching you Malfoy. Better watch your back." Nick whispered under his breath as he turned his attention to the lesson.

"Strange, last I checked, that was my line, Cliffmore." Malfoy muttered back as Nick smirked slightly.

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"Nick! What happened to you!" Ginny Weasley cried out as Nick staggered into the hospital wing with his crutches.

"Your boyfriend and brother decided to give me a piece of their mind." Nick tried to smile, but the pain from the bruises made it hard to.

"Why didn't you fight back or run away?" Ginny asked as Nick sat down next to her.

"Last thing I need to do is make them hate me." Nick answered as Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Apparently, they already hate you." Ginny pointed out as she gave Nick a look of obvious.

"Yeah, I know. So, the scars and bruises were all removed?" Nick asked as Ginny nodded.

"I'm guessing it looked pretty realistic when I staggered in like that... the draught of the living death took a while to kick in."

"Yeah." Nick sighed.

"Why won't you let Madame Promfrey heal you?" Ginny asked as Nick shrugged.

"Let's just say it's my Slytherin pride."

Ginny smiled slightly, before a worried expression appeared onto her face.

"What are you going to do about Hermione?"

There was a moment of silence where sighing could be heard escaping Nick every few seconds.

"I don't know. Like you said, she hates me." Nick muttered at last.

"Only because you all of a sudden turn evil." Ginny pointed out once more as Nick sighed again.

"It's nothing but an act."

"A very painful act indeed, since you refuse to let anyone heal your injuries."

"Merlin's beard—"

"Just promise me you'll let Madame Promfrey heal you! And don't let Neville or Ron beat you up anymore! You seem like a wimp!" Ginny snapped as Nick nodded his head slowly.

""Alright... it's not as if I like being beaten up by Gryffindorks." Nick muttered.

"Malfoy's rubbing off on you." Ginny hissed as Nick smirked.

"Guess he is."

"Arrg... a Slytherin like Harry Potter is the last thing I want to deal with at this moment." Ginny said as Nick's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Gin..." Nick warned.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

"Good. I need your help." Nick sighed as he bit his lip in worry.

"What's wrong now?"

"Malfoy's under the impression I want to be a death eater... your brother, your boyfriend, and Hermione all think I am a death eater."

"So?"

"What the bloody hell am I supposed to do to make them think otherwise?"

"Last time I checked, you were the one who wanted to spy on the Slytherins!"

"Last time I checked, I didn't sign up to be a death eater! Nor did I sign up to lose all my friends!"

"You knew what the consequences were when you placed the plan into action." Ginny stated.

"Yeah... but... you should've seen the look in their eyes... if I didn't know them, I would've thought they were Slytherins themselves the way they acted..."

"Look in their eyes? What? Har—Nick, listened... Dumbledore mentioned at the beginning of the year that there was going to be a Christmas ball this winter. The thing is, everyone has to wear a costume and a mask the whole way through... they're not aloud to take the mask off or tell anyone who they are until the ball's over... maybe you can earn Hermione's trust back then."

"What do I do until then?" Nick asked.

"The D.A. is still going on... except... some of the members from last year decided to form an order. Behind Dumbledore and the staff's back. Lupin doesn't even know about it... maybe you can join or something." Ginny suggested.

"Yes, what do I tell them? Hello, I'm Nicholas Cliffmore, but you see, that's not really my name, I'm actually Harry Potter in disguise trying to spy on the Slytherins and—"

"Nick!" Ginny cut in angrily as she double checked to see if the silencing charm around them was still working correctly.

"Sorry..." Nick muttered with another sigh.

"Stop sighing."

"Sorry."

There was a moment of silence... then...

"Ginny?"

"Yes, Nick?"

"Have you had a chance to talk to Hermione since she got back?"

"Not really."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"Well... I—I mean, Harry, gave her this book for her birthday..."

"Book?"

"Yeah... Hogwarts, A History." Nick explained as Ginny rolled her eyes.

"She's already got a copy of that. Do you seriously think she'll look through that copy?"

"That's my problem... I mean... Harry's problem... you see... the book... isn't really the present itself... it's what's inside it."

"What's inside it?"

"I—_Harr_y," Nick corrected, "gave it to her before he—I mean, I, I mean... Merlin's beard this is confusing."

"Just say 'I' instead of Harry!" Ginny snapped as Nick nodded.

"Okay. I gave her the present before I had any feelings about her... romantically I mean... and well, the present was..."

"What was it?"

"A necklace."

"A necklace?"

"Well, more like a locket." Nick corrected.

"A locket?"

"Well—I don't really know what it is... I... It's just a necklace okay? With a heart locket hanging off of it." Nick tried to explain.

"What's in the locket?"

"A picture."

"Of...?"

"Hermione... and... Harry. Last winter at—Head Quarters after your dad was attacked." Nick muttered as Ginny nodded.

"I remember that now... I took the picture myself... it looked so cute." Ginny said with a smile as Nick blushed slightly.

"Look I... do you think you can get it back for me?"

"WHAT?!?" Ginny yelled out in shock.

"Well—I..."

"Harry James Potter, you can't give someone a present like that and then steal it back!" Ginny said angrily as Nick got to his feet and took a few steps back before tripping and falling onto a bed behind him.

"Okay, bad idea. Sorry. I'm not the best bloke to talk to when it comes to romantic stuff okay? The first girl I kissed was crying." Nick said as a frown appeared onto his face.

"You've got to be kidding." Ginny mumbled as Nick shook his head.

"Alright... I'll—I'll make sure she opens the present okay?" Ginny promised as Nick nodded slowly.

"You seem confused." Ginny said as Nick nodded his head again.

"Just thinking... how does the mind of a girl actually work... it's rather complicated you know..." Nick said as Ginny threw a chocolate frog at him.

"Hey!" Nick said as he caught the frog, and tossed it back.

"You'd better get back to class. Won't they notice you missing?" Ginny asked as Nick shook his head.

"It's only divinations."

Ginny smiled.

"Well, get Madame Promfrey to heal you young man... or else." Ginny warned as Nick nodded his head once more.

"You remind me very much of your mum."

"Shut up and get to class Nick." Ginny laughed as Nick grabbed his crutches and stumbled over to Madame Promfrey's office.

Ginny removed the silencing charm around her bed, and watched as Madame Promfrey opened the door, and began fussing over Nick with an annoyed look on her face.

"I'm starting to wonder Mr. Cliffmore, if you and Mr. Potter really are related! You come here as often as he does!" the nurse snapped as Ginny tried out to avoid laughing outloud.

The expression on Nick's face was absolutely hilarious.

**A/N: **_A chapter to prove that Nick isn't prefect... just by the way he's handling things you can tell he's kinda acting like an idiot... turning more Slytherin each passing second..._


	33. Hogsmeade Weekend

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (33) Hogsmeade Weekend

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** Nick searches for robes down at Hogsmeade and begins preparing for the Christmas ball... but what happens when he overhears something he doesn't want to know?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"Cliffmore!"

Nick turned around to see Malfoy approach him, along with his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle at his side.

"Malfoy." Nick acknowledged as the sixth year Slytherin smirked.

"Where are you going this fine weekend?" Draco Malfoy asked.

"Hogsmeade. Need to buy dress robes for the Christmas ball." Nick answered with a light shrug.

"Oh really? Who are you going with? Don't tell me you're asking the mudblood." Malfoy said with a look of disgust on his face.

"Was there a rule saying you needed a date? Professor Snape must've forgotten to mention that to me." Nick countered with a raised eyebrow as Malfoy glared at him.

"Whatever. Everyone's going to be in costumes anyways." Malfoy muttered as he walked past Nick, shoving him in the process.

Crabbe and Goyle followed, but instead of shoving him, they nearly squashed him. Nick glared after the three Slytherins as he got back to his feet, before heading towards Hogsmeade himself...

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"Hermione, has anyone asked you to the Christmas ball yet?" Ginny asked as she, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Hermione looked though Honeydukes to stock up on candy.

"No," Hermione answered almost immediately.

"Are you even planning to go Hermione?" Neville asked as he paid for a dozen chocolate frogs.

"No," Hermione repeated.

"Why not?" Ginny asked.

"Just because."

"Why don't you go with Nick?"

**SMASH!**

The glass jars that held the candies shattered into pieces and the storekeeper had a look of shock on his face.

"_Stelio Repario_!" Hermione broke the silence, and with a wave of her wand, everything was repaired.

"I'm going back to the school."

The sixth year Gryffindor walked out of the candy shop, and began to head towards the direction of the school when she crashed into someone and fell backwards into the snow.

"Oof! Sorry about that!" a voice said as Hermione looked up at the person she had collided into.

"Justin?"

"Oh hey Hermione!" Justin Finch-Fletchley said as he got to his feet and helped Hermione up.

"Hi. I haven't talked to you since the D.A. meetings last year." Hermione muttered as she dusted her robes off.

"Yeah, so, what's up with you lately?" Justin asked.

"Nothing much," Hermione answered.

"Um... you want to go get a butterbeer? My treat," Justin offered as Hermione shook her head.

"It's okay, I'm heading back to the castle."

"Oh, say... Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a date to the Christmas ball?"

"No... I wasn't planning to—"

"Do you think you can be my date—to the ball I mean—I mean—I don't have a date, and you don't have a date and—well—will you go to the ball with me?" Justin finally spat out as Hermione stood there awestruck.

"Um... sure?" Hermione answered, not knowing what else to say.

"Realy? Thanks!" Justin said happily as he leaned in and gave Hermione a hug.

"Um... well, I'll see you around then." Justin muttered as he realized what he had just done.

Hermione nodded as she began to turn red on the spot from embarrassment.

"Bye." Justin said as he turned around, and ran off in a hurry.

"What just happened?" Hermione asked herself as she finally found herself capable of speaking.

"Justin asked you to the ball." A voice answered from behind.

Hermione turned around, and was shocked to see Nick standing there with a frown on his face.

"Cliffmore." Hermione hissed angrily as a look of hurt slowly appeared onto Nick's face.

"Yeah, me... guess I'll see you around." Nick whispered as he turned around and walked away.

"What are you up to?" Hermione asked with a frown as she stared at the sixteen year old Slytherin who continued to walk away from her.

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Nick entered the robes shop, and looked around for a moment before sighing.

"Hello there! May I help you with something?" a wizard who seemed close to becoming bald asked as he approached Nick.

"Um, yeah. I was looking for something formal. A costume. For the 'Formal Costume Christmas Ball' Hogwarts is holding in a few weeks." Nick answered as the wizard nodded.

"Well, my name is Bob, and I'm the manager. What kind of costume are you looking into today?" Bob asked as Nick frowned slightly.

"I... I don't know." Nick said awkwardly as he took a look around.

"Well, a formal costume... I have some clothing from the mid 1600's if you'd like to take a look at those." Bob offered as Nick shook his head.

"If we ordered a custom made costume, how long would it take to have it done and mailed to me?" Nick asked as Bob went behind the counter to look through some papers.

"First off, we need to know what kind of designs you want on this 'costume'. We also need to know what color, what fabric, and—"

"Yes, I see, may I?" Nick asked as he pointed to the quill the man held in his hands.

"Why of course." Bob said as he handed Nick the quill and a few sheets of parchment.

Nick spent the next twenty minutes or so designing his costume for the Christmas Ball. When he was done, he handed the drawing to Bob.

"Amazing work. Are you an artist?" Bob asked as he looked over the designs.

"No. Just—had some practice." Nick muttered as he remembered the times Dudley told him to do his art homework.

"Well, what color would you like it to be?" Bob asked as Nick looked around the shop once more.

"This color." He said as he set his eyes on a beautiful emerald green color.

"Ah, much like your eyes." Bob commented as Nick nodded.

"The fabric?"

"What kind do you have?"

"Silk and cotton are the basics, there's also Chinese Fireball dragon hide—that's bloody expensive though, and there's also the basic dragon hide—that's not as expensive and—"

"I'll use this kind." Nick said as he pointed to the material he held in his hands.

"Ah... this is the—"

"Yeah, whatever. I don't really care what kind of fabric it is—just... when do you think you'll have it done?" Nick asked as Bob frowned slightly.

"Let me take your measurements, and I think I'll be able to have it done a week before the ball."

"It'll take _that_ long?" Nick asked in shock as the man nodded.

"Fine." Nick sighed as he got onto a nearby stool, and waited to be measured.

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**A/N:**_ Hey guys, sorry for not updating for so long! I was out working for the first few days after I updated my last chapter... and for the last few days, I've been re-packing... apparently I'm going back to Taiwan this Monday! For a month! Don't worry, I have access to computers back there! So I'll be able to update and stuff. And due to the jetlag, I'll probably be on the computer a lot. So far, I've got up to the Christmas ball planned, I just need to find a way to put it down on paper... anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, REVIEW! For every 10 reviews I receive from now on, I update another chapter, how's that?_


	34. Counting Down The Minutes!

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (34) Counting Down The Minutes!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** How will things work out at the Christmas Ball?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"Cliffmore, there's a package for you." Malfoy said as he threw a large object at Nick who caught it with one hand.

"Finally, a week before the Ball psh—as if, more like an hour. No tip for Bob today." Nick muttered under his breath as he opened the letter Bob had sent along with the letter.

_Hey Nick,_

_ Really sorry it took so long for me to get this done, the orders lately were mad! You have no idea how many students wanted custom made costumes! Anyways, I hope you like the handy work. I followed all your instructions on that blue print you made. Well... have fun at that ball of yours, and remember: the best clothes are brought at Bob's Clothes!_

_ Yours truly, Bob_

"Everyone wants custom made costumes these days..." Nick sighed as he crumbled the note up, and stuffed it into his robes.

He headed out of the great hall to get ready for the ball, as it was less then a few hours away.

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"Ah bloody hell! He made the sleeves too long!" Nick swore angrily as he waved his hand, and shortened the sleeve on his jacket wandlessly.

"What's with the fuss Cliffmore? Got a date?" Malfoy asked as he combed his hair calmly.

"None of your business Ferret boy." Nick snapped angrily as the gave up trying to button the top button of his dress shirt.

"What's with the muggle prince charming look?" Malfoy continued to ask as Nick threw a nasty look at him.

"You'd think it was Halloween. Why'd the old fool make this a formal costume Christmas ball anyways?" Malfoy muttered under his breath as Nick shrugged.

"I wasn't here during the sorting, so I wouldn't know, would I." Nick replied in a cocky tone as Malfoy glared at him.

"Listen Cliffmore, you'd better be watching yourself today. The Dark Lord may drop by anytime during this ball, and you might be his target," Malfoy warned as Nick shrugged.

"Like I care," Nick said as he grabbed some gel and ran it through his hair, making it stay flat for once.

"Do you think it'll really be all dance and eat?" Malfoy asked as Nick shrugged for the third time that conversation.

"I heard from Professor Snape that Dumbledore's got some sort of game planned for us during the first two hour after the feast." Malfoy muttered.

"Your point?" Nick asked.

"No point at all, just thought you'd like to know."

"I'm gonna go down to the great hall already. One of the younger students agreed to set me up with a dance partner at the last moment." Nick said as he finished combing his hair, and left the room.

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"Presenting, Mr. Ronald Weasley and Ms. Luna Lovegood," a house elf announced as Ron and Luna walked arm in arm into the Great Hall.

"Come on Ginny, who are you waiting for anyways?" Neville asked as the house elf introduced Hermione and Justin.

"Just wait! He'll be here—there he is!" Ginny said as a very handsome wizard wearing emerald green royal like robes approached them.

"Cliffmore?" Neville asked in disbelief as Nick bowed his head slightly.

"Miss Weasley," he acknowledged as Ginny smiled slightly.

"Stop being so formally stupid. Come on." Ginny muttered as she grabbed Nick by his hand and dragged him towards another girl nearby.

"What's going on?" Neville asked loudly as Ginny ignored her.

"Jessie, meet Nick. Nick, meet Jessie. You two can be each other's dance partners for tonight since you both don't have one." Ginny said as Nick nodded his head.

"Sure. And Gin—it's all set up right?" Nick asked as he looked towards the youngest Weasley.

"Yup, don't worry, it's covered. Everything will go perfectly as planned unless Tom drops by." Ginny said as Nick nodded.

"Good, and I doubt that'll happen." He smiled as he turned to his partner for that night.

"Hi," he said as the girl smiled slightly.

"Hi," she replied as Nick held his arm out.

"Shall we?" Nick asked as Jessie nodded, and took his arm.

"Presenting, Mr. Nicholas James Cliffmore and Jessica Lisa Carter," the elf announced as Nick frowned.

"Nicholas James Cliffmore? How do the elfs—"

"Magic, dummy." Jessica smiled as she led them to the table where Ron, Luna, Neville, Ginny, Hermione, and Justin all sat.

Nick had the fortune to sit right across from Hermione, but the misfortune to sit right next to Ron.

"Hi there." Jessie waved hi as some of the people waved back.

Dark looks appeared onto Ron, Hermione and Neville's faces when they saw Nick—although the dark look was on Neville's face the moment he saw Ginny pull him away.

Nick looked at Hermione in awe, as he tried hard to keep a straight face, and not let his jaw hang open.

Hermione looked somewhat similar to what she had looked when she went to the ball two years ago with Krum, except the fact that she seemed more beautiful each passing second. Nick was thrown out of his thoughts when Dumbledore spoke.

"Let the feast, begin." Dumbledore smiled as his clapped his hands, and food appeared out of nowhere onto the tables.

Nick barely ate anything, for he had lost his appetite after seeing the looks on his friend's faces. When everyone was done, Dumbledore stood once more.

"Before we start the actual partner to partner dancing, let's play a game..." the headmaster said as students all around cheered.

"The rules are rather simple, everyone will divide themselves among their sexes (_a few students coughed when they heard this, and Nick watched as Hermione rolled her eyes_) and a concealment charm will be placed on all of you by me. During this game, you are to find a dance partner, and dance for as long as you want. During your dance, you may each ask your dance partner five questions. The last once ending with 'what's your name'.

"This game will last two hours long and after you have successfully found your partner, you may either continue the game, or spend the rest of your time dancing with your date. Well—what are you all waiting for? Up you go!" Dumbledore finished as all the students stood, and the tables and chairs they once sat at all disappeared.

The students all separated into two grounds, and Dumbledore placed the charm on them. Nick felt a mask appear onto his face and as he looked around, he was shocked to see people who looked exactly the same. Wearing the same clothes and the same masks. The only difference was their hair.

"This will be fun." Nick muttered as the music began and he felt someone tap at his shoulder.

"Dance?" a rather high voice asked as Nick nodded.

"Sure, why not." He replied in a voice not like his own.

"Let the games begin!" the headmaster said with a smile as the music began.

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TheMuse85- Cool, which school did you go to? And thanks for the update, hope you like this chapter too.  
  
David M. Potter- Yeah, I know... it is below me... but what can I say... I'm a demanding person? lol... thanks for the update.  


Memory charm it away-Lol... didn't know about that to tell the truth... the name was originally supposed to be 'Kozo', which was a nickname of one of my friends... but if you translated it from Japanese... it means hobo... so I decided to change the vowels so it was Kazu instead... the Flintstones thing is pretty cool... lol... the personality of Kazu kinda came from a few of my friends' combined... but um... good guess lol...


	35. Let The Games Begin!

**Title:** Year of Discovery

**Chapter:** (35) Let The Games Begin!

**Author:** Laen

**Editor:** Fallohe Leng

**Summary:** What happens when Nick tells his 'dance partner' the wrong answers? Will Hermione find out a bit earlier then Nick planned? And what happens when someone arrives unexpectedly?

**Disclaimer:** It's not mine, okay?

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"So... what house are you in?" Nick asked as he began to dance with this mysterious person.

"Slytherin." The person answered in a high voice.

"I see."

"What about you?"

"Gryffindor." Nick said easily before a look of shock appeared onto his face.

_'Shit! Dumbledore placed a truth charm on all of us!'_ he thought to himself as he struggled to keep a straight face.

"Oh. What year are you in?" the person continued to ask.

"Six, you?"

Once again, Nick couldn't control his mouth as he blurted the answer out.

"Same. Do you play Quidditch?"

"Used to, not anymore. What about you?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" the person replied in a smug tone.

Nick frowned slightly. As he recalled, Slytherin had no girls on the Quidditch team... unless...

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Nick asked carefully.

"A boy obviously! You're a girl aren't you? Your voice sounds like ones."

_'Magically charmed!'_ Nick thought as he shook his head.

"Nope, I'm a guy too." Nick answered as he suddenly felt sick.

"Oh. What's your name?"

"You answer first." Nick said as his 'dance partner' frowned slightly.

"Draco Malfoy."

Nick nearly fainted.

"You?" Draco asked as Nick struggled not to answer.

"Harry Potter."

The words were out of his mouth before he knew it. The concealment charm around them disappeared for a few seconds, but that was all Malfoy needed.

"Cliffmore? What the hell?" Draco gasped as he pulled himself away from Nick.

"Sick." Nick hissed as he wiped his hands onto his jacket.

"You're _Harry Potter?_" Draco asked in shock as a look of fear appeared onto Nick's face.

"If you dare to tell _anyone_—"

Too late.

Malfoy had spun around and ran off quicker then you could say Voldemort. A groan escaped Nick as he turned around to walk away. He suddenly crashed into someone.

"Uh, sorry." Nick said as he straightened himself to look into chocolate brown eyes.

"Hermione?" he asked as the eyes widened.

"How'd you—"

"We need to talk, _now_!" Nick hissed as he looked around.

When he made sure no one was watching, he led Hermione out into the gardens.

_'So much for the romantic approach'_ he thought to himself with a sigh.

"You could've just asked me to dance inside." Hermione said as Nick shook his head.

"Remove your mask." Nick said as he tried to take his off.

"Ouch!" Hermione cried out as a shock of electricity hit her hand.

"It's magically charmed, we can't remove it unless we ask the five questions." Hermione said as Nick cried out in frustration.

"Fine then. Question number one, who do you care about the most other then your parents?"

"Harry, Ron and Nick." Hermione answered as her hand suddenly shot to her mouth.

"How—"

"It's a truth spell. Ask me a question now." Nick said in a hurry as he turned back towards the castle.

"Who do you care about the most?" Hermione asked as she tried to get Nick back for asking her such a private question.

"You."

"What?" Hermione asked in confusion as Nick asked the next question.

"What do you think of Cliffmore?"

"I think he's a really nice person but lately it's as if he's struggling with himself with his decisions and actions. Why are you asking these questions?"

"I don't know, they came off the top of my head! Why don't you like flying?"

"I'm afraid of heights—I wasn't supposed to say that!" Hermione groaned as she tried to cover her mouth.

"Fourth question—if Voldemort arrived right now to attack what would you do?"

"Join the battle?" Hermione answered as Nick swore under his breath.

"Last question, what's your name?"

"You already know that!"

"Just answer me!"

"Hermione Granger! My turn now if you're in such a hurry to finish this! Heck, we're not even dancing!" Hermione snapped as Nick placed his arms around her waist in a position similar to the way they danced at the Halloween dance.

"Why do you care about me the most in the world?"

"Because you're you." Nick answered, remembering something he said to Hermione on her birthday.

"That's not even a proper answer—oh forget it... next question... what house are you in?"

"Gryffindor." Nick answered this with pride this time.

"Fourth question, why did you ask me about Voldemort?"

"Because he's going to arrive soon."

"What? Why?"

"Just ask me what my name is, and I guarantee you, you'll know."

"What's your name?"

"It's—"

"**HARRY POTTER!**" a loud cry could be heard from inside the great hall as the ground trembled.

"Shit, it's him." Nick whispered as he removed his mask and looked towards the great hall, where a cloud of red smoke had suddenly appeared.

"Who? Nick! What—what's going on?" Hermione asked in confusion as Nick turned back to his best friend.

"I'm not Nick. I'm Harry, and I need to get in there, before someone else gets hurt."

"What? No! You can't be—"

"I am! I've been living under another name for past half a year okay? I didn't plan on meeting you at Scotland High, because I assure you, if you hadn't been there, I would've never considered coming back here. Now if you excuse me, I've got to deal with Tom." Nick whispered as he turned around, and ran back into the great hall.

"Nick—Harry!" Hermione cried out as Nick turned around.

"Promise me we'll talk after this. Seriously." Hermione whispered as Nick nodded.

"I promise you that we will. Now watch yourself." Nick muttered as he turned around once more.

He hurried through the crowds of people, and arrived in the middle of the great hall, where Voldemort and his minions were.

"Hey there Tom, long time no see eh?" Nick asked sarcastically as he approached the dark lord.

Several gasps could be heard as Nick smirked.

"Cliffmore, what do you think you're doing?" McGonagall asked as Nick shrugged.

He realized that Professor Dumbledore must've removed the concealment charm on everyone when Voldemort attacked.

"Well Riddle, old buddy old pal... what brings you to good old Hogwarts?" Nick asked as he began to pace around.

"Apparently... you, _Cliffmore__._" Voldemort's voice caused shivers of fear to craw up the spines of several students, but Nick stood un-phased.

"Well, if that's the deal, let's get a move on, and get this over with." Nick hissed as he formed a wand out of his hands.

"Impossible!" Voldemort whispered in shock as Nick shook his head.

"Nothing's impossible. Especially when you're dealing with me." He smirked as Voldemort growled.

"You're acting more Slytherin each passing second. Are you sure you won't join my side, _Cliffmore_?" Voldemort asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You killed my dad, and my mum... and that bitch of yours killed my god-father."

The last comment caused several people to gasp.

"No way—you can't be!" Ron cried out as Nick held his wand tightly between his hands.

"Prepare to dance Riddle, cause this ball ain't over yet... _KAVARDAI METAMORPHA!"  
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A/N: hehe... aren't I evil... leaving you at a cliffhanger like this just before I leave for three days... please review and tell me what you think... especially about the Malfoy thing... I thought I'd add something like that just for the fun of it hehe... anyways, bye... for now!_  
_


	36. Secrets Revealed

Year of Discovery-Chapter 36, Secrets Revealed

**NOTE: 'NICK' WILL NOW BE REFERRED TO AS HARRY!**

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"_KAVARDAI METAMORPHA!" _Harry shouted as he pointed his wand at Voldemort, who raised his wand and blocked the attack.

"Not bad _Cliffmore, _not bad at all!" Tom hissed as Harry threw more curses at him.

"Impedimental—" Harry barely had a chance to finish speaking before he was thrown backwards and had crashed into a few students who screamed.

"_Furnunculus!_" Voldemort said as Harry rolled out of the way of the spell.

"Reducto!" Harry yelled as Voldemort easily blocked it.

"_Crucio!" _

Harry fell to the ground in pain as students and teachers all around them began to scream from fear.

"It's over _Cliffmore!_" Voldemort said coldly as Harry struggled to get back onto his feet.

"Not yet," Harry whispered as he absorbed the magic of his wand, and flung an orb of bright light towards Voldemort.

The Dark Lord barely managed to move out of the way as the orb made contact with his left arm. The bright energy slashed past it, and a thump could be heard as Tom's left arm fell to the ground.

A cry of pain escaped the lips of Voldemort as students all around screamed in shock and disgust. Girls turned around, and boys flinched at the sight. Teachers were trying hard not to look too distressed, but the expression was clearly shown on their faces.

Harry fell downwards, onto his knees, and cursed himself for overusing his magic. Death Eaters around him took this chance to throw curses at him. Several cries of '_Cruicio!_' could be heard as Harry bit his lip, trying hard not to scream.

But after several seconds, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Ahhh!" Harry hissed under his breath as the death eaters laughed.

"_Elvindio!"_

Death Eaters went flying backwards as a powerful spell hit them straight in the chest and the curse placed on Harry was removed. The boy who lived managed to look up slightly, to see who had saved his life.

Dumbledore.

The man who had ruined his life in the first place.

Millions of questions flowed through Harry's mind as he slowly fell towards the ground, and darkness overcame him.

"Death Eaters! Retreat!" Voldemort shouted as he reached into his robes, and grasped a portkey.

The Dark Lord disappeared as quickly as he came, and all the death eater's followed his actions.

Dumbledore and the staff of Hogwarts—Snape included, shot at least a dozen firecrackers into the sky, before all the students had calmed down.

"Prefects, please lead all the students back to their common rooms. Mr and Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Granger, if you may, accompany me to the hospital wing. All the rest of you, off to bed—_now!_" Dumbledore stated in a clear tone as the students all hurried out of the great hall.

Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville approached the staff table, and as they did, they looked around in hopes of finding Hermione.

"Hermione? Where are you?" Ginny asked out loud as she continued to look around.

"Professor—Hermione's missing." Ron said as he continued to search for his friend.

"No, she's not." Neville whispered as he pointed to someone outside the school, standing near the garden entrance with a look of fright on her face.

"Hermione!" Ginny cried out as she ran forward and waved her hand in front of Hermione's face, checking for a reaction.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Luna asked in a completely serious tone.

"Miss Granger, say something." Professor McGonagall whispered as her face continued to pale.

"Hermione, say something... anything..." Ron said as he shook her slightly.

No words escaped Hermione Granger as the sixteen year old Gryffindor fainted into the arms of her best friend, who looked rather frantic and shocked at her actions.

"Hermione!" Ron said as he tried to shake her awake.

"Mr Weasley, I believe a visit to the hospital wing is required." Dumbledore said as he waved his wand, and two stretchers appeared.

Ron slowly placed Hermione onto one of the floating stretchers, and placed his arms around Luna as he sighed deeply.

"Great, I'm losing both my best friends—again." Ron muttered as Luna shook her head.

"They'll be alright." She whispered as Ron sighed once more.

"They have to be."

Ron watched as the teachers levitated Harry onto the stretcher, and the expression on his best friend's face merely caused his own to pale more then it had already.

"Harry—Nick—whoever the hell you are—you'd better be alright." Ron whispered as he shut his eyes, and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

**A/N: **_Hey... sorry for not updating lately... I barely had time to go on a computer to work on this... anyways, I'll try to update sooner... but review and tell me what you think about this chapter. Personally... I think it needs more work, but I have no time right now to work on it... o well... REVIEW!_


	37. The Mentor awakes but what of the Studen...

Year of Discovery- The Mentor awakes... but what of the Student?

l l l l l l l l l l

"Look—a scar—it's appearing!" Neville Longbottom whispered as everyone hurried over to Harry's bed.

True enough, the lightning bolt shaped scar was slowly returning to Harry's forehead. Looks of shock appeared onto every face—except Ginny, who already knew that it was Harry. Ron had a look of anger on his face as realization soon replaced it.

"He lied to me. He bloody lied to me! Then he oblivated me! That son of a—"

"Silencio!" Ginny hissed as Ron lost his voice.

"Miss Weasley—" Madame Promfrey began, but a look from Dumbledore told her to stop.

"Poppy, what is his status?" Albus asked as Poppy sighed.

"I—I don't know. There's some sort of shield around him preventing me from checking." The school nurse explained as a soft moan was heard from Hermione's bed.

Everyone hurried over, leaving Ron jumping around trying to get their attention, for he still couldn't talk.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Luna asked in concern as the muggleborn witch frowned and tried to sit up.

Madame Promfrey immediately forced her back onto the bed, and poured a vile of foul green looking potion down her throat, causing her to choke and cough.

"What was that?" Hermione asked as she grabbed a nearby glass of water and gulped it down in hopes of getting rid of the nasty taste.

"Headache potion," Madame Promfrey muttered under her breath as she looked over at Severus Snape.

"I had run out of the strawberry flavor—it was rather kind of Severus to brew some on such short notice. Too bad it was the favor wasn't as—normal tasting as it's supposed to be."

The Potions Master smirked evilly as Hermione glared at him.

"Where's Har—I mean, where's Nick?" Hermione asked as she looked around.

"It's okay, we all know it's Harry." Ginny mumbled as Ron kicked a nearby bed and continued to get their attention.

"What happened back there?" Hermione questioned, referring to what had happened earlier at the Christmas ball.

"Um... well... you-know-who attacked." Ginny answered awkwardly as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Of course, that was obvious... but... Professor, why didn't any of the teachers help Harry when he was attacked? Why did you just stand there and—well, why did you just stand there?"

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape all looked at each other for a moment before each shaking their heads.

"We um—wanted to test Potter's abilities. To see if he was capable of battling the Dark Lord," Snape began as Hermione frowned, "obviously, he wasn't."

Now everyone other then the Potions Master was frowning.

"Severus, watch what you say." Dumbledore warned as Snape rolled his eyes.

"Miss Granger... the truth is... Voldemort managed to place a binding charm upon the staff members... I wasn't able to break it until it was nearly too late." Dumbledore stated as Hermione frowned, but turned her attention to the school nurse anyways.

"Madame Promfrey, what's wrong with him?" Hermione asked.

"I—I don't know. As I explained earlier to everyone else, there seems to be a shield surrounding him that prevents me from checking up on his status." The school nurse answered.

"But—why is there a shield around him?" Hermione continued to ask as they heard a soft cough come from Harry's bed.

"Because, I placed it there... and no one else but me can remove it."

Heads turned as gasps followed.

"Kazu! You're awake!" Ginny stated as the older wizard nodded.

"What do you mean you placed the shield there?" McGonagall asked as Kazu smirked.

"I meant exactly what I said." Kazu answered.

"Weren't you in a coma?" Luna asked.

"Not anymore. Oh yes, Severus, we must have a word after we wake young Cliffmore—

"Potter." Snape corrected.

"What?"

"It's Potter. Not Cliffmore. Everyone knows that Nicholas Cliffmore is actually Harry Potter."

"Everyone in this room. Plus you-know-who." Ginny corrected as Snape glared at her.

"Voldemort did _this_?" Kazu asked in shock as everyone nodded.

"Bloody hell. _Selivia!_ Check on his status—hurry."

Madame Promfrey hurried up towards Harry's bed, and waved her wand swiftly.

"Two broke ribs from you-know-who's attack. Strained muscles throughout the body from the large amount of 'crucio's' he's received and—Merlin's beard!"

"What? What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked as she got out of her bed and ran towards Harry's bed, crashing into Snape in the process, but not bothering to say sorry.

"Part of his brain cells have been damaged and there's a chance that he may go... insane."

"What?" Hermione, Ginny, and Neville all cried out in shock as Kazu placed his hand upon Harry's forehead and whispered something under his breath.

A bright glow appeared out of his palm, and was injected into Harry's head. A look of pain appeared onto Harry's face, before the young boy opened his eyes.

Looks of happiness were seen upon everyone's face, but after the first sentence Harry James Potter said, frowns appeared immediately.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

l l l l l l l l l l

"What?"

A single word was heard throughout the hospital wing, and then silence followed.

"Way to go Kazu, you bloody erased Potter's memory." Snape commented as Kazu threw a dirty look towards his student's direction.

"Potter? Don't you mean Cliffmore." Harry asked as confusion replaced concern, smugness, and shock upon the faces.

"Cliffmore?"

"Kazu, what's going on? Why are we at Hogwarts? I thought we were supposed to leave for Scotland High today for the start of term... why are you all looking at me this way? Who are you anyways?" Harry continued to ask.

"Merlin's beard—the alternative identity Harry used while he was hiding... the strain on his brain cells caused him to believe it's true... he has absolutely no memory of his real past..." Kazu realized as he took a step back from Harry's bed.

"I need to consult the upper level with this—the future of the world could be at stake—"

"You're not consulting anyone about anything. What you're going to do, is go back to bed and get some rest and—"

Madame Promfrey could barely finish her sentence as Kazu disappeared in orbs of bright light.

"Ah... orbing around now, are we?" Snape asked under his breath with a small smile.

"Where did he go?" Professor McGonagall asked as everyone looked around.

"Didn't he just tell you? He's going to consult the upper level. I do believe that the leader of the upper level owns a Calliope Mayonaisola. It's a rare magical creature that's nearly extinct." Luna Lovegood answered with a dreamy expression on her face, once again.

"For the first time, the insane child is right." Snape muttered as he looked over at Luna, who looked up at the ceiling.

Ron, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation, once again kicked the bed, and managed to catch Harry's attention.

"What's wrong with you? Silencing charm?" he asked as he waved his hand, and Ron was released from the charm.

"Ginny! I'm going to kill you!" Ron exploded the moment he was freed, but Ginny avoided him.

"Harry—I mean... Nick, what's the last thing you remember?" Ginny asked as Harry stared at her in slight confusion.

"Um... where'd Kazu go? Who are you people?"

Ron and Neville's jaws both dropped as they realized the seriousness of the situation, and tears began to form in Hermione's eyes.

"Harry... don't you remember... anything?" she asked as Harry frowned.

"Who's Harry? While we're on the subject of asking who's who... who're you?"

The look upon Hermione's face told everyone around them all they needed to know... Hermione's heart had been shattered... literally.

"I'm just... a friend... just a friend." Hermione whispered as she thought back to what Harry had told her earlier on that year.

"Merely a friend..." she whispered as tears flowed down her face freely, and she fell back onto her bed unconscious.


	38. Realization

"Harry—I mean... Nick, what's the last thing you remember?" Ginny asked as Harry stared at her in slight confusion.

"Um... where'd Kazu go? Who are you people?"

Ron and Neville's jaws both dropped as they realized the seriousness of the situation, and tears began to form in Hermione's eyes.

"Harry... don't you remember... anything?" she asked as Harry frowned.

"Who's Harry? While we're on the subject of asking who's who... who're you?"

The look upon Hermione's face told everyone around them all they needed to know... Hermione's heart had been shattered... literally.

"I'm just... a friend... just a friend." Hermione whispered as she thought back to what Harry had told her earlier on that year.

"Merely a friend..." she whispered as tears flowed down her face freely, and she fell back onto her bed unconscious.

**Year of Discovery: Realization**

Nicholas Cliffmore couldn't help but frown as he walked through the halls of Hogwarts, and looked around at all the new scenery. Following behind him, were Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

He also couldn't help but notice that looks of shock were following him around, and staring from everyone was seen in every direction.'

"Hey Ron..." Nick said as he turned to the Gryffindor.

"Why are so many people staring at me?" he asked as Ron looked at Neville, who gave him a look that asked 'what-do-we-say'.

"Um... Nick... you sort of have a lightning shaped scar on your forehead." Ron muttered as Nick frowned.

"No I don't." he said as he summoned a mirror wandlessly to check.

"Bloody hell, I do have a weird shaped scar on my forehead!" Nick gasped as Neville and Ron both nodded.

"Do you remember... anything... about Harry Potter?" Neville asked as Nick frowned slightly.

"He defeated Voldemort when he was just a baby, and he fought death eaters last year in the Department of Mysteries. During the fight he lost his god... father..." Nick paused as he grabbed his head for a moment in pain, and tried hard to remember.

Flashes went by, and they did, he watched Sirius fall through the vile, over and over again. A cry of angst was heard as he fell to his knees and tore himself away from the memory.

"I saw it... I saw how he died..." Nick whispered as tears began to form in his eyes.

"There was so much hate... so much pain... so much sorrow..." He stated as frowns appeared onto both Ron and Neville's faces.

"Why was I able to see that?' Nick questioned as he looked up at the two Gryffindors.

His hand rose to his face, where a drop of tear had just slid down his face. He wiped it off slowly, and stared at his not wet stained hands.

"Why am I crying?" he continued to ask as he slowly got to his feet, staggering as he did.

"Why do I feel this pain inside me?" he whispered as he grabbed his heart suddenly.

"It hurts... it hurts so much..." he began to shake, and dizziness overcame him as he staggered for balance.

Ron and Neville stepped in immediately, and grabbed hold of him to make sure he didn't collapse.

"We need to get him to the hospital wing." Neville said as Ron nodded, and the three set off for the school hospital wing.

When they arrived there, Madame Promfrey was more then shock and angry to see the situation Nick was in. Hermione, who had recently woken up, and had finally stop crying, broke down once again when she saw the state he was in, and Ginny couldn't help but groan when she realized she would have to calm Hermione down all over again.

"Set him down on that bed next to Ms. Granger—Ms. Weasley, Ms. Lovegood, visiting time is over... please leave while I tend to my patients... you too, Mr. Weasley... Mr. Longbottom." Madame Promfrey stated as Neville and Luna both nodded, and left without a word.

Ginny and Ron on the other hand, both seemed rather pissed, and refused to leave 'Nick' and Hermione's side.

"Leave now, or I'll be forced to remove twenty points from Gryffindor... each..." the school nurse threatened.

When the Weasley siblings realized how serious the nurse was, they left with no choice.

"Ha—Nick, what's wrong?" Hermione asked as she wiped the tears out of her eyes, and tried to stop herself from crying.

"It hurts... it hurts so much..." Nick whispered as his hands clenched the bed sheets painfully, and he began to shake uncontrollably.

"Harry! Harry!" Hermione said as she got out of bed, and hurried over to Nick's bed, where Madame Promfrey stood waving her wand around like mad.

"Ms. Granger, go back to sleep!" she commanded, but Hermione ignored her, and grabbed Nick's hand, holding it tight, as if trying to let him know she was there.

"It hurts..." Nick continued to mutter as Madame Promfrey frowned.

"What hurts? What's he raving about?"

"Sirius... no! Come back..."

A drop of tear slid down Nick's cheek, and Hermione wiped it off his face slowly, not noticing that her tears were now flowing freely as well.

"Harry... please... wake up..." Hermione whispered as Harry's shaking suddenly stopped.

A sigh of relief escaped from Madame Promfrey, and when Hermione looked up to ask what happened, she received a frown from the school nurse.

"Ms. Granger, back to bed," she commanded as Hermione groaned slightly.

Slowly, she let go of Nick's hand, and returned to her bed, but not before she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Madame Promfrey... is there any possibility I can get my books to read?" Hermione asked as the frown on Madame Promfrey's face worsen.

"I'll ask Ms. Weasley to retrieve it for you, but you may only have one book," the nurse said as she walked over to the door, and pulled it open.

The moment she did, Ron and Ginny came crashing in. Obviously, they had been trying to listen in on the conversation to see if 'Nick' was okay.

"Mr. and Ms. Weasley!" Madame Promfrey shouted angrily as Ron and Ginny hurried to their feet.

"Yes?" the two Weasleys asked in barely a whisper.

"Leave... now..."

As the two Gryffindors were about to leave, Hermione called Ginny back.

"Get me my copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' will you?" she asked as Ginny gave her a light nod.

The red head then turned around, and hurried out of the hospital wing to catch up to her brother. A few minutes later, she returned with not only one of Hermione's books, but a large pile.

"Ms. Granger, I said _one_ book!" Madame Promfrey stated as Hermione gave Ginny a look of shock.

"It's her homework Madame Promfrey. I just thought it would be good for her to have it. She's going to be bored in here." Ginny said as the nurse frowned.

"Ms. Granger will be leaving the hospital wing in less then three days, what makes you think that she will need so many books?"

Ginny merely looked over at Harry, then back at Hermione, who was now starting to blush a bright red color.

Madame Promfrey merely shook her head in disbelief, before going back to her work.

"Ginny are you mad?" Hermione asked as Ginny Weasley turned to leave.

"No, just thinking ahead. Merry Christmas by the way."

Hermione turned to stare at the pile of books on her bedside table. She skimmed through the titles, and finally decided on re-reading the whole Potion's book. As she pulled the book out, the large pile of books began to shake, and before Hermione had a chance to grab it, the book 'Hogwarts: A History' had fallen to the ground.

After making sure that the large pile of books weren't going to fall anytime soon, Hermione got out of bed, and picked up her book. As she did, she couldn't help but notice something fall out of it.

"What the...?" she whispered as she picked up a long golden necklace with a locket at the end of it.

She opened the book up, and was shocked to find the entire middle section of the book had been cut out, by hand. Written on the one sheet of uncut paper, was a message.

_To Hermione,_

_Remember I'll always be by your side._

_Love, Harry_

Her jaw dropped as she realized what the book was.

"My birthday present." She exclaimed as she thought back to that spectacular night.

Harry had given her a book. When she first received it, she never opened it, due to the fact that she already had a copy, and had memorized the contents of it a long time ago.

"He was trying to tell me... the whole time... he was trying to tell me..." Hermione whispered as she looked over at Nick, who continued to lay there motionless and asleep.

Slowly, and ever so carefully, Hermione opened the locket, and stared at the picture and writing it held. On the left side, it said the following:

_Forever yours, -HP_

On the right, it had a picture of the two of them together last Christmas, when they were at the Order Headquarters after Mr. Weasley had been attacked.

She and Harry had been outside watching the snowfalls, and in the picture, it showed that Harry was making sure that Hermione wouldn't catch a cold by covering her with a blanket.

Hermione smiled at the memory, and her smile widened slightly when she saw what happened next.

Harry placed his arm around her, and held her close, whispering something to her. A small smile appeared onto the two people in the pictures, and Hermione couldn't help but wish that Harry was holding her now, whispering words of encouragement, and love.

It wasn't until Hermione heard a soft cough come from the front door entrance, did she realize that she had been staring at the picture and smiling for nearly ten minutes.

When she looked up to see who was standing there though, her smile disappeared almost immediately, and a look of hate replaced it.

The room was silent, and brown eyes met silver ones as Hermione whispered something.

"_Malfoy..."_


	39. Scattered About

_When she looked up to see who was standing there though, her smile disappeared almost immediately, and a look of hate replaced it._

_The room was silent, and brown eyes met silver ones as Hermione whispered something._

"_Malfoy..."_

**Year of Discovery-Scattered About**

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked as she sat up properly, and reached for her wand.

Malfoy's was out before she even knew it, and she froze in her actions.

"Just wanted to see if the rumors were true. That _Potter's_ gone crazy." Malfoy smirked.

"He's not crazy," Hermione stated as she glared at him.

"Says the little mudblood." Malfoy insulted as Hermione deepened her glare.

"Go away."

"Make me."

Hermione sighed and looked away.

"Why do you bloody care about him so much anyways?" Malfoy suddenly asked as Hermione looked back at him.

"What?"

"I said, why do you—"

"I know what you said. I'm not deaf." Hermione snapped as she frowned.

"Well, that surprised me." Malfoy muttered under his breath as Hermione looked over at Harry and sighed once more.

"Why do you want to know?" Hermione asked as she turned back to Malfoy.

The young Slytherin shrugged.

"Just curious." Malfoy explained at last.

"We're... we're just friends. That's all." Hermione mumbled as Malfoy raised his eyebrow at her.

"I may be a Slytherin Granger, but I'm not blind. Anyone can see you're in love with him."

"How would you know?"

"It's obvious."

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke again.

"I'll see you around Granger."

Malfoy left the room, leaving a very confused Hermione Granger behind.

Minutes later, Madame Pomfrey re-entered the room.

"What are you doing up dear? Go to sleep!" the nurse commanded as she took the book out of Hermione's hands, and placed it back onto the pile, before forcing her to lie down.

"What's this?" She asked when she saw the locket.

"Just... a present." Hermione whispered as she looked over at Harry.

Before the nurse could comment about it, Hermione placed it over her neck, so she was now wearing it, and shut her eyes, pretending to fall asleep.

The school nurse left the room shortly, and Hermione opened her eyes once more, this time, only to stare at Harry.

Several moments passed before Hermione made a movement, or even talked.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered at last, praying that Harry had heard her.

Slowly, a faint frown appeared onto the sixteen-year-old wizard, but it soon disappeared, and was replaced with calmness.

Hermione smiled to herself, before blinking a few times.

"Maybe Malfoy's right, I am in love with Harry..." Hermione muttered as she looked back down at her locket.

"How am I supposed to let him know though?" Hermione asked herself with a sigh as she looked back up at the ceiling.

She slowly closed her eyes, and within minutes, she was fast asleep.

l l l

"What are we to do?" Kazu questioned as he continued to pace about.

"He has no memory of his true past... only his false..."

The group of elders looked at each other before one of them finally spoke.

"Kazu... until Tom Riddle decides to attack Hogwarts, and something drastic happens, we can not do anything... the only thing we can do right now... is wait."

"I understand that Spartacus, my friend, but you must understand... what threw young Potter into this situation _was_ Tom attacking Hogwarts..." Kazu stated as the elder frowned.

"I have nothing else to say Kazu. We can only wait... and pray that they find a way to fix his memory..." Spartacus, the elder said as Kazu sighed, and looked towards the ground.

"Hang in there Harry... just hang in there," he whispered as he sighed once more.

l l l

"My lord, Draco has just sent news from Hogwarts. Apparently Potter has lost his memory. He doesn't remember anything of the past. At all." Lucius Malfoy said as he dared to look up at his master, who had an evil smirk on his face.

"That changes the game a bit, doesn't it...?" Voldemort asked himself as his attention snapped back to the death eaters.

"Snape—" he cried out.

One of the cloaked death eaters approached.

"Return to Hogwarts... talk to Potter... see if he's willing to join our ranks... if we're lucky... he'll say yes."

l l l

When Nicholas Cliffmore (Harry Potter) woke up from his sleep, the first thing he expected to see definitely wasn't the hospital wing in Hogwarts.

"Where the bloody hell am I?" he asked as he looked around.

"What happened?" he asked out loud as he frowned and grabbed his head in an attempt to remember.

'_There was pain... a lot of pain...'_ he thought to himself as he blinked a few times.

He continued to look around, and when he finally came to his senses and was actually awake, he realized there was someone sleeping in the bed next to his.

He recognized the girl as someone who had spoke to him earlier. A boy named Ron had called her Hermione.

"Hermione..." he whispered as he got out of bed.

For some reason, the name sounded rather familiar to him.

"Hermione..." he repeated as he sat down next to her on the bed.

"Why does that name sound so familiar?" he asked himself as he sighed.

He was about to turn away, when he caught the glint of something shiny around Hermione's neck. He reached in and held it up so he could see what it was.

It was a locket.

For some strange reason, the locket also looked vaguely familiar.

He opened it.

A picture was inside, of her, and to his surprise—him.

"What?" he whispered as he looked closer.

The person inside looked like him, except they were skinner and looked younger. The two teenagers smiled and continued to talk inside the picture as Harry read the inscription.

_To Hermione,_

_Remember I'll always be by your side._

_Love, Harry_

"Harry..." he muttered with a slight frown.

"Harry Potter?"

He dropped the locket, and took a few steps away, before sitting down at his own bed.

"I don't understand," he muttered as he grabbed his head in pain.

"What's going on?" Harry shuddered.

"_What in Merlin's Beard is going on?"_


	40. Running Away

**Year of Discovery-Running Away**

"_Where is he?"_

"_I don't know, alert Dumbledore! We need to search the castle!"_

Harry shivered as he sat outside of the castle, in the wintry cold. He had once again, slipped away from the Order of Phoenix.

He had been sitting there for what seemed like hours, trying to remember his past, but no matter how hard he tried, he failed miserably.

"Why me?" Harry asked himself under his breath.

"Of all of the people, why me? Why can't I just live my life happily as Nicholas Cliffmore? Why must they say I'm this... Harry Potter? Why must these forgotten memories haunt me?" Harry sighed, not knowing what to do.

"Perhaps... some time alone would help?" a voice suggested, and Harry turned to see who had spoken.

"You are?" Harry asked in slightly confusion as the man that stood in front of him scowled.

"How is it possible that you don't remember me—Potter?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, before rising to his feet.

"I apologize sir, but I have recently lost my memory, and there are several things I can't remember at this moment," Harry explained politely, ignoring the shocked expression on the man's face.

"But, if you don't mind, perhaps an introduction?" Harry asked as he held his hand out.

"Nicholas Cliffmore, or, as people claim, Harry James Potter, and you are?"

The man paused for a moment before shaking Harry's hand.

"Snape. Severus Snape, I'm the potions master at the school," the dark haired man said with a sense of pride.

"I see, well sir, I apologize for the sudden amount of questions I'm asking, but... what did you mean by some time alone?"

"I meant exactly what I meant Po—Cliffmore," Snape caught himself just in time.

"I don't understand," Harry frowned in confusion.

"Cliffmore, do you remember what school you were planning to attend this year?" Snape asked, and Harry nodded.

"Scotland High Private. Why do you ask?"

"Perhaps a visit there can refresh your memory," Snape explained.

"I see... well... I guess it wouldn't hurt to try huh?" Harry muttered to himself.

"Before you go, I suggest you drink this," Snape held out a glass of what looked like greenish material.

"What is it?" Harry asked, taking the glass out of Snape's hand, and giving its contents a strange look.

"A strong potion to warm you up," Snape said, and Harry raised his eyebrow.

"May I ask why I need to take it?"

"Just trust me," Snape stated, before turning around to walk away, "you look like an icicle."

Harry frowned slightly, before running his free hand through his hair, and to his surprise, there were indeed what looked like small icicles all over him.

"Thank you sir," Harry said as Snape continued to walk away.

Harry looked down at the potion in his hand, and sighed deeply, before gulping it all down in one breath.

"See ya Hogwarts, good bye for now," Harry said to the grand castle, before orbing away shortly.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"What do you mean he's gone?" Hermione Granger shrieked in disbelief as Severus Snape flinched slightly.

"Really, what is it with you Gryffindors? At least Cliffmore wasn't as confused as you, but then, he was sorted into Slytherin and—"

"It's Potter! Harry Potter! He's no longer Nicholas Cliffmore!" Ronald Weasley cut in as Snape glared at him.

"He introduced himself to me as Nicholas Cliffmore, not Harry Potter... his behavior and manners were Slytherin like, so I believe he is still Nicholas Cliffmore," Snape stated as the group of Gryffindors all shook their heads.

"He's not a Slytherin!" Hermione shouted angrily and Madame Promfrey entered the hospital wing with an expression that could kill.

"Severus! Out! My patient needs rest—Weasley, Longbottom, Lovegood—all of you, out as well!"

The potions master didn't say anything, he merely did as he was told.

"I can't believe this! How could he leave?" Ron asked out loud once he and his friends were all shoved out of the Hospital Wing.

"You heard Snape, he needed time alone," Ginny sighed as she leaned towards the wall for balance.

"Yeah, I agree with Ginny, perhaps he just needed some time alone." Neville said as he stood next to his girlfriend.

"I don't believe this—he—he must've left because he wanted to run away!" Ron exclaimed as Ginny, and Neville stared at him in shock.

"No way! Harry would never run away!" Ginny stood up for her friend.

"But he did! He's not here is he?" Ron asked as he looked around frantically.

"He's left. He's run away." Ron stated clearly; Ginny and Ron both shook their heads. Luna merely stared back and forth between the three people silently.

"He's left us. And that's that. I—I need time to think about this... I can't believe he just did that..." Ron mumbled to himself as he turned around, and ran off.

"And he says Harry ran away!" Ginny burst out angrily as she glared at the Gryffindor running off.

"This is unbelievable!" Neville muttered, looking towards Luna's direction.

"What are your thoughts?" Neville questioned.

"Where do you think he went? Nicholas Cliffmore must not have a lot of memories..." Luna said with a dreamy expression on her face.

Neville and Ginny both looked at each other, with looks of curiosity as they too, began to wonder: Where did Harry go?

**A/N: **_Sorry for not updating for so long... I hope this chapter's good... I ended up re-writing it at least half a dozen times... before I came up with this... so yeah, REVIEW!_


	41. Summer Refugee

**Year of Discovery – Summer Refugee **

**A/N:** _This one's dedicated to Kneazle. Thanks for pointing out the spelling error in my other fic :D I think I'll throw in Jakalope in one of the chapters where Harry's trying to relax in Hogwarts. You got a favorite? Oh yeah... Go Canada! LoL. It's also dedicated to all those people who review in my new fic, and thank you for being so supportive. I don't know what's come over me today, but for some strange reason, I felt like writing :D_

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

As the snow around him continued to fall downwards slowly and silently, Nicholas Cliffmore continued to walk towards the large building that resided in the middle of Scotland.

"Perhaps this will help me remember," Nicholas mumbled to himself as he finally reached the front of the building.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"You led him to Scotland High Private?" Kazu asked in disbelief as Severus Snape nodded his head.

"And here I thought I was the one who was supposed to be coming out of a coma half awake—are you insane Severus?" Kazu exploded.

"What..." a look of confusion appeared onto Snape's face.

"The boy needs something to jump his memory. He will begin to remember afterwards—"

"Jump start his memory my arse! What if Tom attacks him while he's at the school!" Kazu shot a pointed look at Snape.

"He won't. The Dark Lord wishes to recruit young Potter..."

"It's _CLIFFMORE_!" Kazu shouted angrily, causing vials of potions and ingredients around them to explode.

"You fool... have you any idea how expensive these items are?" Severus hissed.

"Nicholas' life is worth much more!"

"His name is _POTTER!_" Severs Snape shouted, drawing his wand and pointing it at Kazu, whose hand inched towards his own wand.

Silence fell upon the room and before either wizard could say something, a crash could be heard from outside the dungeons.

Snape and Kazu both hurried towards the corridor, but besides a smashed suit of armor, there was no one else there.

"What now?" Kazu looked over at Snape, who had a look of fear on his face.

"Whoever that person was... if they were a spy... they could report to the Dark Lord... my life may be forfeited." Severus whispered, taking a step back in worry.

"You must find Nicholas—" Kazu stopped, "Harry. You must find Harry. Immediately. Before it's too late. They know where he is. You must find him and take him to a much safer place. But... where?"

"The summer refugee?" Snape suggested.

"Yes. Of course. We stayed there during the summer, training... yes, take him there..." Kazu decided.

"I'll need the new password..."

"A Snake in the Lion's den." Kazu stated.

"Well put. I'm off to search for Potter."

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"My lord, I have just received an owl from my daughter, she brings... great news." One of the death eaters said as he knelt down before the Dark Lord.

"Oh? What news does she bring?" Voldemort asked.

"She heard a conversation my lord, between Snape, and Potter's new mentor... my lord, Snape... he is not loyal."

"I know of this already, Parkinson. Get on with the news." Voldemort hurried.

"Yes of course my lord." Parkinson mumbled under his breath, continuing on with the information he knew.

"It's Potter my lord. He's no longer at Hogwarts. He's at the Private school that mudblood Granger attended at the beginning of the year."

"Scotland High? Of course. To help him remember his past..." Tom paused for a moment.

"Death Eaters! You must travel to Scotland High immediately! Before it is too late! Hurry!" Voldemort shouted as death eaters around them began to disapparate.

"Malfoy! Parkinson! You two are in charge! I want you to bring Potter back. Alive." Voldemort instructed.

"Of course my lord," the two death eaters said in unison as they too, disappeared with a pop.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

_Meanwhile..._

"Excuse me, my name's Nicholas Cliffmore... I'm a bit lost here... can you tell me which room I'm supposed to be in?" Nicholas asked as the secretary at the front office raised her eyebrow at him.

"I'm on my break kid. Come back in an hour."

"But..."

"Read the sign!" The secretary snapped.

Nicholas looked around.

"What sign?"

The secretary sighed, before grabbing a pen, and scribbling something down on a blank sheet of paper.

"This sign!" The secretary stated as she taped the sheet of paper up.

"_Currently on break. GO AWAY."_ Nick read aloud.

"Alright. Thanks for nothing then." Nicholas turned around, ignoring the snort that came from the secretary.

"What a rude women," Nicholas mumbled to himself as he stopped in front of a large map.

"Hmm... perhaps..." Nick paused, and looked around carefully.

Apparently everyone else was eating dinner or something. There was no one in the hallway.

Nick waved his hand over the map, and waited carefully for something to happen. A few seconds later, one of the room on the map began to glow.

"Alright, guess that's my room..." Nick said out loud to himself as he turned, and headed down the hallway towards his old apartment.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Severus Snape couldn't help but hate the cold weather as he walked through the snowstorm that brewed outside. He would have apparated or at least orbed to the school, but to avoid bumping into any muggles, he was instructed by Kazu to apparate as close as he could and walk the rest of the way.

Unfortunately for him, the rest of the way was over a mile long.

As the Potions Master shivered and shook with coldness, he wondered if the Dark Lord had sent the Death Eaters already.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"You, woman, tell me here, has a boy with black hair come by? A boy named Harry Potter?" Lucius Malfoy asked as he glowered over the secretary.

"Not another one... listen, I'm on my break, bugger off!" the lady snapped angrily, grabbing the sign she had made earlier and shoving it in Lucius' face.

"_Incendio!"_

"Ahh!" The secretary dropped the note, which had ignited into flames.

"Now I'll ask you again, have you seen a boy with black hair come by?"

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

The crunching of snow was loud as Severus Snape began to run towards the school, pausing every once in a while to flash forward using his magic. Less then a minute ago, an alarm had gone off at the school. Someone had used magic. And it wasn't Harry.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"This way!" Lucius Malfoy led the crowd of Death Eaters through the hallways of the school, and as they bumped into any students and teachers, they tortured and killed.

"Are we almost there yet?" Parkinson asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

"We're close, we just need—"

**BRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNGGGGGG**

The Death Eaters all froze in their actions as they looked around the building, looking for the source of the sound. Lucius found it first, coming from a red bell high above them.

"_Diffindo!"_ Malfoy cried out, flinching as the red split in half, but continued to ring, and if possible, much louder.

"Oh bloody hell! _Incendio!_" Parkinson shouted, brandishing his wand.

The moment the burst of fire streamed out though, water poured downward upon them.

"Forget about this! We must find the boy! He must've been warned by now!" Lucius yelled, running forward through the sprinklers, ignoring the pallets of water that splattered upon his face.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"Damn it Potter, where are you?" Severus Snape asked himself as he finally reached the entrance of the school.

Flames were seen everywhere as more then half the school began to burn down.

"Bloody hell... point me, Potter." Severus mumbled, waiting for his wand to show him the way.

"Of course..." he sighed to himself as he hurried off towards the school.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Nicholas Cliffmore was walking happily down the hallway, well, as happily as he could, after the encounter with the evil and mean secretary, when suddenly, he heard a scream. Look out a window, and over to the other side of the building, he saw a flash of green, then silence.

"Bloody hell, they've found me..." Nick whispered to himself as he began to ran.

He screeched to a stop at a corner, and was about to turn left when he noticed the fire alarm on the wall. He pulled on it, before continuing his run. He had to get out of there. Before it was too late.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"You, and you! Head that way! You three, go that way! Parkinson, you're with me!" Malfoy shouted out orders as the group of death eaters divided themselves into small groups and headed off in different directions.

They hadn't gone far before they heard a cry from behind.

"Snape!"

Malfoy and Parkinson both turned just in time to see one of their newer death eaters go flying backwards.

"Kill him!" Malfoy shouted, brandishing his wand and sending a hex towards the Potion Master's way.

Snape stood there unfazed as several beams of green light came flying towards his direction. Then, just before it hit him, he disappeared with a flash.

"Merlin... forget about him! Find Potter! Hurry!" Malfoy yelled, turning around and continuing his searching.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Nicholas was running down the hallway, knocking on the door, and shouting at the top of his lungs, telling people to get out of the building, when he suddenly collided into someone.

"Ooof!" Nick cried out as he fell back in surprise.

"Potter! Here you are! We've got to get you out of here!" Severus Snape stated as he dragged the sixteen-year-old wizard to his feet.

"What? But you said to come back and..." there was a look of confusion on Nick's face.

"Forget about what I said before, we need to get out of—"

"There they are!" Parkinson's voice cried out as the two light wizards turned to see who was talking.

"Bloody hell. Grab on tight Potter, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Summer's Refugee!" Snape hissed, activating a portkey just as the flash of green light missed them, and destroyed the wall behind them.


End file.
